Epiphyllum in the Litter Box

With the Decaloba subgenus Passiflora blooming prolifically, it was nice to finally get some new color in the yard. True, P. loefgrenii, P. racemosa 'buzios', P. caerulea, P. foetida, and P. x belotii are all blooming, and they all look nice. But having something new is fun. These Epiphyllum flowers are huge. It's not hard to see why people enjoy this genus. Despite the kittens that were using the planter as a litter box and digging up the roots a bit, this one has survived to provide a really nice bloom.

Tribute to Beauty

I returned from a business trip today to find my second Epiphyllum in bloom. This one, called 'Tribute to Beauty' is larger and darker pink than the previous blooming cutting. Both this one and the last are little more than single stem cuttings with giant flowers on them. If these plants thrive in their new locations and continue to grow. I can't wait to see what the next round of flowers will look like.

First Epiphyllum Flower!

I have been monitoring the Epiphyllum cuttings outside my kitchen window lately. Remarkably, two of the rooted cuttings had sprouted buds, while the others were all setting new branches. I'm somewhat stunned that a single cutting without any new growth will bloom, but when I woke this morning, raised the curtain, and looked out, there it was!

Tillandsia and More

One of the gifted plants that I received from a local Epiphyllum friend was a Tillandsia aka air plant. I don't know the species, but since it didn't need a pot or much space, I let it hang out in the green house since I acquired it. It has been growing rather quickly. What's more is that today it began blooming. It's a cute little thing with a single flower spike. I suspect that with warmer weather, that this little plant is going to explode with growth. We will see.

The Epiphyllums that I attempted to root will be investigated today. They'll either be moved to a more soily substrate or need a recutting so that I can try to root them again. Doing all of this now will hopefully mean that by Spring I can plant them into some containers that I bought for the cinder block wall behind my house. I think they'll get the right amount of sunlight there.

I updated on the Passiflora in the greenhouse in my last post. But I failed to mention that I began some P. membranacea and P. cirrhiflora cuttings in the cloner. They're in the garage with a LED grow light on them. Last time, they were in the greenhouse with all of the other cuttings, and when they were, P. cirrhiflora took root and P. membranacea quickly died. I checked on the cuttings today in the garage and the P. cirrhiflora cuttings were all expired while there were little roots appearing on P. membranacea. The most significant factor is evidently heat. I've determined that P. cirrhiflora likes approximately 80°F water/air and P. membranacea likes approximately 65°F water/air. When one considers the normal growing environment for both species, the correlation isn't difficult to understand. Hopefully the new P. membranacea cuttings will take once I pot them. And, hopefully I can generate some more P. cirrhiflora cuttings in the greenhouse when the weather warms up a bit more.

New Epidemic

I recently helped a local Passiflora FB friend add a few plants to her collection. She was kind enough to bring some Epiphyllum cuttings for me. I wasn't very familiar with that genus, but I soon became hooked. Moreover, I purchased a bunch more cuttings and plan to visit the local enthusiast group that meets monthly. There was a little floor space available in the greenhouse, so I decided to make use of it.

My collection now includes:

Kirby's Giant
Jesse's Tower
Canary Princess
Hidden Treasure
Sherman Brahm
Princess Kelly
Chuckles
Jungle Red
Poison
Tribute to Beauty
Nocturne
Clown
and a few Unknowns