flat leaf/stalk that blooms

by Vicky
(Sun City Center, Fl)

My neighbor gave me a cutting from her plant but didn’t know the name either. after about 6-7 months mine bloomed. beautiful, large flower but it only lasted about 8 hours. My neighbor didn’t know it would bloom. I called her so she could come see it!

It puts out new growth on the side of the leaf/stalk. You can take that and start a new plant. It can grow pretty tall but because it’s flat it will bend over and has to be staked.

Congratulations! You’ve got the awesome and beautiful epiphyte called Epiphyllum. These are also known as Orchid Cactus, no surprise there.

The plant itself is a bit ugly, but it redeems itself when it blooms.

Quite often, they are grown in hanging baskets so they can drape over the edge, and the flowers can be seen from below.

They prefer those kinds of conditions because that’s where they adapted; growing in jungle tree tops where they have bright light, but moisture from rain showers and compost rich soil from the leaves that drop off the trees and catch in the crooks of branches.

Hope that helps,
Jacki

Comments for flat leaf/stalk that blooms

Nov 19, 2014 Spectacular flowering cactus by: Helen When my aunt gave me a cutting from her orchid cactus I wasn’t particularly impressed by it…until it first produced 2 spectacular scarlet and cerise flowers. That was 25 years ago and I’ve cherished it ever since. It’s now simply enormous and spends every summer on our patio where it blooms abundantly for several weeks. My husband brings it indoors in the autumn where it takes up a vast amount of space in our living room looking even to me quite incredibly hideous! Last year it astonished me by producing several flowers just in time for Christmas. Although it’s now in the largest pot my husband could possibly carry without getting a hernia, it’s so pot-bound it’s now impossible to see the soil and I was worried in case this unexpected floral display was its swan song. However, this past summer it excelled itself and I breathed a sigh of relief though I did take many cuttings just in case it finally died of old age. I have several other succulents such as a Christmas cactus, a jade plant and aloe vera to name just a few but I’ve had my beloved orchid cactus for so long it’s practically a member of the family and I hope I’ll have it for many years to come. Do I love it? No, I’m totally besotted by it!

Nov 19, 2014 Lovely! by: Jacki Helen, I hope your orchid cactus continues to give you many more seasons of blooming for your enjoyment! The trick is to have a replacement plant to take its place if the mother plant wears itself out – or give some cuttings to other family members so there’s always one to go to in the future – you’ll start your own legacy!

May 28, 2015 My cutting bloomed after 3 years by: Barb A neighbor down the street had many blooming orchid cactus on her porch. I commented on their beauty and she gave me a cutting. After 3 years I elevated it and it bloomed. Its shockingly beautiful.

Apr 25, 2017 Night Blooming Cereus by: Lynne It closely resembles my night blooming cereus plants that look just like this when they bloom. They only bloom during the summer, only at night and only for one night . Huge fragrant white flowers ……very interesting that they so resemble the orchid cactus, although it is in the cactus family too.

Sep 20, 2020 Bloomed after 4 years by: Joan My cousin gave me several cuttings from her husbands eppies and I put them all in one hanging basket. It grew and grew long green ‘stems’ and hung down about 2 feet. This spring it developed seven saucer size gorgeous red blooms. It is very root bound and probably needs to be repotted and fed. But I am afraid if I do that it will not bloom for another four years. What do you recommend?

Sep 20, 2020 Note to Joan by: Jacki Cammidge, Certified Horticulturist Hey Joan, these plants like to be rootbound, so you can leave them in what looks like a really small pot for quite a while, as long as you feed them. I use liquid fertilizer like Plant Prod that you can adjust the strength to what they need. If they are dark green, don’t fertilize, but if they’re starting to yellow, give them a feed diluted for the next few waterings. Generally, once they start blooming, they’ll continue to bloom.

Jul 05, 2021 Frustrated Northerner with green thumb by: Shelli- Merion Station, PA happy to see this blog. I have 3 healthy Eppies fr a clipping 13 yrs ago . Mine hasn’t bloomed but once or twice .last about 4 yrs . I need suggestions to get blooms again . No one has mentioned the “put your plant in the dark for few days . i use it hear that would trigger blooms for the Christmas cactus. is this worth a try for Eppies ? thx in advance !

Jul 06, 2021 Note to Shelli by: Jacki Cammidge, Certified Horticulturist A few days most likely won’t do much – it needs to be a few weeks. It doesn’t need to be dark, just shorter daylight hours, and cooler.

May 25, 2022 Orchid cactus getting yellow. by: Thérèse Hello , I have a gorgeous cactus that I have had at least 10 years. It is huge and I repotted last year as I found grub worms in the soil. It was doing great and rewarded me so far with at least 75 blooms as big as my hand. so far. However , it is starting to turn yellow again. I use miracle grow with my waterings and do not water often. Is there another fertilizer I should use at this time? Should I try B1? Is this due to overwatering? Any help is greatly appreciated. Also I have started many cuttings and passed them around to keep this beautiful plant going.

May 25, 2022 Yellow Epiphyllum by: Jacki Cammidge, Certified Horticulturist I don’t know why your particular plant would be going yellow, but these plants are heavy feeders. If the roots have completely filled a smallish pot, the top growth will yellow. Fertilizer which contains micro nutrients seems to help, or compost tea. I routinely switch up the type of fertilizer I use, as they are all slightly different and help with certain functions.

May 26, 2022 Thanks Jacki by: Therese It is in a huge pot as the plant is quite large. I will try some different fertilizer and compost tea to see if this helps. Thanks for the suggestions.