Epiphyllum oxypetalum

[Tom-DE]

A night blooming cactus. AKA Queen of the Night, Orchid cactus...
The flowers start to open up slowly at night and close up (die) by dawn.
The flower is very fragrant and huge--10 inches wide.
F

 

[eds]

Very nice Tom. My Epiphyllum anguliger has just finished flowering - they're much smaller but there are lots of them.

 

[Ray]

One of the first plants I got when I started collecting.

They get ungainly over time, and my attempt to “bonsai” my current one is a mixed bag, so I may plant it in the hard next spring and see if it’ll overwinter outdoors.

 

[Tom-DE]

They do get big over time....but it should be no problem to keep a manageable-sized plant since it is so easy to root a decent cutting and grow them again.

 

[My Green Pets]

On that note, how large do they have to be to flower? I was given a cutting a couple of years ago.

 

[Ray]

The one I currently have was a leaf only (about 11” long) when I got it 2years ago. I rooted it in a 4” pot and it grew a 3’ stalk, and I cut the top foot off. It had one blossom about a year after I got it.

it is still in that 4” pot (hence the “bonsai” comment) and has grown to a full 3’ this year, and had 2 blossoms several weeks ago.

 

[Tom-DE]

William, a large cutting from a matured plant can bloom in the following flowering season, which means as little as just a few months. This cactus grows well outdoor in summer, in part shade, warm, slightly dry out between waterings. It doesn't care much about the soil type as long as it has good drainage, I'd even used ordinary garden soil to root a few cuttings for my neighbor and friends.
IMO, I would let those "stalks" that Ray mentioned, grow some leaves. They normally will produce more flowers from those leaves, or cut the whole stalk off after they have some leaves and root the whole stalk...there, you have a good replacement for an old big plant instantly.

 

[Ozpaph]

lovely. must be 'spirited' pollinators - one night only

 

[Cearbhael]

Well, I have the exact same plant! It has grown tremendously, but has yet to bloom. I have raised and bloomed many Epiphyllium hybrids, but really got lucky while at a sheep and Alpaca fibre event. An alpaca owner had it on her table! I asked if she would be willing to part with and she smiled and said yes! It was small but very well established. They are supposed to be incredibly fragrant

 

[abax]

Overwhelmingly fragrant. An elderly gentleman in the neighborhood had a HUGE one
growing all over his greenhouse attached to the gh structure. The blooming season
was a neighborhood event in that small greenhouse with over 90 blooms open at
once. I've mostly forgotten that period of my life, but I will always remember that
gh visit.