Epiphyllum Hybrid Care

Most Epiphyllum species are night blooming white flowering cactus which came from Central and South America. They live in tree canopies with very few nutrients, save leaf mold and bird or bat droppings. They are not paracitic, as they do not use their host tree to provide their food. They mostly have white flowers, there are few exceptions to this rule. While the night blooming epis are beautiful, people tend to more often grow the hybrids since the flower colors are more showy. They come in many shades of pink, red, orange, white, yellow, and purple. How did they get from night blooming white to day blooming colored flowers? They were hybridized with other cacti like Heliocereus and Nopalxochia and also terrestial cacti were used. Most hybrids have less than 20% true epiphyllum in them any more.

Care of cuttings:

When your cuttings come, put them aside for a week or two up to a month to cure or callous, this helps prevent rot. The longer they are left to cure, the quicker they seem to root once planted. They will look ugly once cured, but they bounce back. When you're ready to plant, make sure you plant one variety to a pot, two cutting to a 4 in pot will cause it to bloom quicker. You can use rooting hormone, however this is usually not needed. Plant about an inch to an inch and a half deep, making sure there are at least one or two areoles on each side. Your plant will get it's best growth from under the soil. A good mix of 1/3 perlite, 1/3 vemiculite, 1/3 sterile potting soil w/o peat can be used for rooting cuttings. Keep an eye out for fungus gnat larvae at this time, they eat cuttings that are too wet, and seem to breed in peat based mixes. Label the plant and pot, I use a sharpie marker to mark the plant and pot, and also use a DYMO embosser labeler. You will want to keep track of the hybrid names in each pot. Keep the soil moist, not wet or dry, too wet will cause rot, too dry will kill any feeder roots it's established. Mist daily or use ice cubes to moisten the soil. If for any reason your cutting becomes mushy or turns yellow, it's probably because of too much water, cut off the bad part, set your cutting aside to cure and start the process over. It can take over 6 months for roots to develop, be patient. After about a month give your cutting a slight tug, if you get resistance, you're probably rooted.

Rooted cuttings can be potted in the below mix. put your cutting in a small pot and gently put barely moist mix around the plant. carefully tamp down the mix around the plant, you want it just tight enough to hold the plant up, not congeal around the plant when watered. Wait about a week before watering and gently until you see new growth. cut off any growth coming from the tip of your cuttings as this makes an unsightly plant. You want new growth to come from the root line.

Care of established plants:

Once rooted, you can switch potting mixes to 1/3 perlite, 2/3 commercial C&S mix or orchid mix. Once again wait a week or so to water to prevent rot. You will not need to fertilize for the first few months or so. The potting mix has sufficient nutrients. After that, fertilize monthly with a balanced fertilizer like 10-10-10. In November and early spring fertilize with 0-10-10 or 2-10-10. This will promote bud growth and flowers. Once you have started watering, never let them dry out completely. Epis go dormant in November and December. Do not fertilize during these months. After your plant has finished flowering then fertilize once again with a balanced fertilizer, 10-10-10, or 8-8-8, etc. I use Eleanor's VF-11 weekly for every day. Be sure to spray the stems also as they absorb much of their nutients through their stems. Put your plant in a semi-sunny location, protected from the afternoon sun.

Remember to shelter your plants from frost in winter. If you do encounter frost, by chance and it looks like your plant may be damaged, it is suggested to turn the hose on them before they are exposed to the sun, this warms your plant up naturally and less damage will be encountered. This practice has been used successfully for citrus and avacados for years. Epies can take temps as low as freezing as long as the soil is dry, and the plant has been given ample time to harden off new growth. They also take heat as high as 110+ if kept misted and shaded from about 11 am - 4 pm. Spray your plant with a hose at least monthly to unclog any pores and remove dust particles. Be sure to keep the humidity up during the summer months. I water my plants twice daily in the summer. Our temps get to 120 in August sometimes. As long as they are shaded, they come out fine. Epies bloom better if not caged, but left to hang from a hanging pot. They do like to have tight toes before blooming, they can live comfortably in a 6 in pot for years, if fed properly. If you're ambitious, you can also mount them like orchids and ferns. Epies also need good air flow, a good place for them is in a lathe house or under a tree. If they receive too much shade it may affect flowering.

Pruning:

Pruning can be done at any time, I like to do mine just before the plant begins to grow in the winter and late summer. Pinck back any new growth to encourage  branching. I just take the tip off of some stems, barely 1/4 of an inch. This looks better than a cut off top and gets the same result.

Watering:

Epies have two growing times, spring and fall. They need more water at these times. I water in the morning, the water continues to evaporate and raises the humidity level throughout the day. Water when an inch of soil is dry, a good way to check this is pull the tag out, if it has soul sticking to it, it is ok, if not it needs water. My plants get watered and misted sometimes twice a day in the summer, once a day in spring and fall, and once a week in winter. Your watering schedule should reflect how quickly your potting mix dries. Do not let the mix completely dry, this will cause your roots to die. It will also cause rot once you do water. Epiphyllums absorb moisture through the stems, 50% humidity is recommended. Mist your plant daily to keep up humidity.  

Flowering:

Most hybrids will bloom in the spirng, they like cooler winters to form buds. I've found that greenhouse grown plnts produce buds quicker in the season, however ones that are allowed a chilling during the winter have more buds. Like Schlumbergera temperature can affect flower color. Color may also be different on younger plants. Epies like to be rootbound, thus if you want blooms quicker, pot them in the smallest comfortable pot. I prefer Clay pots over plastic, not only does this allow air flow to the roots, the roots dry out quicker, with less chance of rot.
 
Pests:

Epies are not prone to many pests, but they do get them. The main pests are scale, mealies, and spider mites. Aphids, ants, snails, slugs, boll weavels, and fungus gnats can also cause problems. Use a commercial insecticidal soap or make your own with a couple drops of dish soap in a squirt bottle with half water half rubbing alcohol. Spray on the infected plants, let it sit about half an hour, then rinse it off. Do not let your plant get sun burned. Be fore-warned that alcohol will remove sharpie marks. Aren't you glad you used a labeler? Do not use any tobacco based insecticide on your plants. Cactus are susceptable to Tobacco Mosaic Disease, which causes spotting on your plants.

Finally:

Epies are fun and rewarding plants, once you get your first bloom, you'll be growing them everywhere you have room and then some. Enjoy your cuttings.