Hi, I am new to this forum, I have searched and searched and I don't know where else to go to try to find out what type plant I have. An elderly man gave the plant to my husband as a "gift" for helping him with some work around his house a couple of years ago. To be perfectly honest, I thought it was just an ugly "stick looking" plant, but my dh loves this plant for some reason. The giver of the plant said it was a cactus and that it only blooms once a year or "every so often" and he had a photo of the plant when it bloomed. It had one bloom on it and he said it blooms for 24 hours and then its gone to the best of my husbands memory.....it seemed to be a pinkish/red/orangish color, ha, if that helps. I have pictures of the plant to share. Please note that the brownish stick that shows tied to the plant IS NOT part of the plant itself. The plant falls over, maybe its supposed to, but when the man had it, it was growing tall, upright in other words with sprawling stems around it. When we got it, the main trunk portion kept falling over so I stuck a piece of bamboo stick in the pot and tied a string to it to keep it upright. The whole plant is green in color. It has little prickly needles all along the plant. They don't hurt when you touch them, more like hair type needles. I would LOVE to see this plant bloom and do what it was put here on this earth to do but I don't even know where to begin to take care of it. We can't ask the man about the plant anymore as he has moved away. Please offer any advice, suggestions you have. I don't know if this matters or not, we are in Georgia, I keep it inside as the man did as well. I keep it in the dining room in a corner. It gets natural sunlight during the day and the room is dark at night for the most part. I water it as the soil gets dry. The pot may be too big, I'm at a loss and would really like to "save" this plant and enjoy it. Thanks - Pchangel Large Leaf type on plant Also, I should have added that since we have had the plant, about two years, it has not bloomed, I dn't know if I made that clear or not.
It's an Epiphyllum, and if you do a search of the forums for it you'll find all sorts of good information.
Thank you so much! Now it seems much more special since I know what it is. In refering to the correct type and looking at photos, do you think the correct full name would be the Epiphyllum Oxypetalum? The only thing I see I may be doing wrong is that all the other plants I've seen like this are in smaller pots, should I repot this one and put it in a smaller pot? I have much reading to do. The other thing is that the previous owner said it only bloomed once and once per year I think, could this just be because it was ready to bloom or wasn't being cared for where it would bloom more do you think? I can't wait for dh to get home today where I can share the news of the unidentified plant. I almost got rid of it and he protested! Now I'm glad I didn't. Thanks so much!
I'm not so hot on cactus taxonomy, so I'd need to see a flower from yours before I'd venture a guess. However, since E. oxypetalum is the most common species grown as a houseplant, you're probably correct. (Also, you have seen flowers.) I personally don't grow Epis (I'm more into the food-bearing cacti like Pitahaya and Pricklypears) but I do know that in nature (Central American rainforests) it doesn't grow in soil at all - it's an epiphyte. Reducing pot size won't hurt, and when you re-pot it should be into a very fast-draining medium. Most gardens centers sell something called "Cactus Mix" and my best luck with potted epiphytes has been to mix that about 50-50 with orchid bark. It's a rainforest cactus, so it needs a bit more water than desert varieties, but since it's adapted to grow without soil, it needs to be planted in something with extremely good and fast drainage. Georgia is probably humid enough that you don't need to mist it, though. They are seasonal bloomers, and many growers put them in the fridge to stimulate the yearly flower; there's a lot more growing information here. The thread in that link deals with all aspects of Epiphyllum growth and care. My experience with all cacti is that the happier they feel, the more likely they are to bloom for you. Your cactus is also producing stolons (the long, whippy stems) which are a part of the natural aesexual reproductive process of the cactus. In the rainforest, those reach out along the tree trunk where the cactus is growing until they find another suitable niche, then start a little clone of the mother plant there. I have absolutely no idea what they'll do on an indoor plant. The final thing you may have noticed is that your cactus is trying to climb; when you re-pot it, get it a totem of some sort to climb - this is what it would do in nature, and it will make the cactus much happier in your house. Hope this all helps!
Cannot thank you enough! I do not have any other cacti in the house except for Christmas Cactus'; I won't even go into that adventure, they hate me! HA! I'm still learning, but I would love to see if I can actually get this plant to do better. Right now everyone who comes in the house just says "what in the world is that thing?". I feel bad for it! Your information is worth a ton to us! Thanks so much for taking the time to write everything out for a newbie! One other thing, I can't seem to figure out, every photo I see so far and the information for the Epiphyllum Oxypetalum says if blooms "white". This particular plant bloomed a darker pinkish/red bloom? Maybe I don't have the correct variety of the Epiphyllum, although the folliae looks the same.
See, and therein lies the problem. There are several genera of epiphytic hot-growing rainforest cacti, but Epis are only white. So it may be another of the genera - red blooms are associated with another genus entirely, but I can't at the moment recall which....
Maybe E. ackermannii which has been transferred to the genus Disocactus. (Probably the name you were thinking of, lorax!) There are lots of Epiphyllum *hybrids* of many colors. If it is a hybrid, you might never know it's true and complete ID. To me, yours looks like it could use better light.
I am now anxious to really work with this plant and see exactly what I get. I've had it over two years though and its not had one bloom the whole time. I'm thinking pot size and soil might be the problem though. I'm going to work with it and see what produces. The actually green leafy foliage looks EXACTLY LIKE the Epiphyllum Oxypetalum plants I found, especially one of them; wish I could remember where I saw it where I could repost that photo here, it was much clearer. The leaves or greenery on the ackermannii seem to be thicker in substance so I'm not sure what I have but at least I know the basic foundations of it where I can start from there and read everything I find. Thanks so much for your help with this. Its nice to have such knowledgable people in the world who don't mind helping someone else who doesn't have a clue! :) http://chicagohouseplants.com/ESTORE/epiphyllum_03.jpg Here is one photo, the plant on the far left, that is exactly what I have, see the little spiney things on the side of the stalks, I have those on mine as well.
