Is this Epiphyllum ?

[charlpic]

Hi there,
this is my first post here. My cactus interest is quite recent but growing.

Here is a specimen given to me by my mother-in-law. Her son thinks it's an Epiphyllum. After searching a little, I was confused with the "CactiGuide - Search by Habit" because the specimen is both "Angled" and "Flattened Leaf-Like" (as you can see on the third picture) but this Epiphyllum description suits him well...

For the most part they are spineless except as tiny seedlings. The stems are sprawling, vine-like plants that hang over tree branches and rocks. The stems are long and flattened and have often been mistakenly called leaves. This misperception is exaggerated in that sometimes the stems will start out with round growth and flatten out on the ends giving the appearance of a long tropical leaf.

I can hardly tell how much cuttings there were initially in the pot. I'd guess 4 or 5 maybe more. The pot is 4" wide. I don't know if he's "going well" but it has small dry spikes (in the middle of the stems) that could help him hang over something. If you think this cactus need immediate division, tell me, I'm quite new to this !

The original plant has leaf-like stems of at least 1"½-2" inches wide. It just doesn't match any epiphyllum picture i've encountered at this point.

If you think it's an Epiphyllum, any guess on the exact species would be appreciated. Thanks for your help.

Charles

[luddhus]

I think it is too young to be reliably identified. It also looks a little etioliated, which makes identification more difficult. It is an epiphytic cactus, but whether it is Epiphyllum or one of the other similarly looking genera I cannot tell. Maybe someone else can?

[daiv]

I think this is a Lepismium. Hard to say for sure on a species. It should flower for you sooner or later. The flower will help pin down the ID. You can give it stronger light.

[charlpic]

Thanks to both of you,
will try to cheer it up this summer so it can flower some day. I'll be able to give it stronger natural light in a month or so. Until now, it got direct sun for short period of time in the morning. I moved it to a less direct sun window but overally longer exposition.

I'll try to get a picture of the original plant to compare to Lepismium and ask to my mother-in-law if it ever flowered.

Thanks for your help.

Charles

[daiv]

Just be careful not to let it get sun burn. If it looks sickly that is OK as that will mean lots of flowers, but you just don't want burn that leads to dead scar tissue. Full morning sun is ideal with afternoon shade.

[charlpic]

Here are pictures of the original cacti. Looking at the flower, I would now go for a Disocactus/Epiphyllum ackermannii unless someone states me wrong.

[Harriet]

The original plant looks like an Epiphyllum. Trouble is that there are so many Epi hybrids out there that you may never be able to put a complete name to it. No problem though, let it grow and sit back to enjoy the show.

Mattslandscape.com has pictures of hundreds of Epis. One look there and you'll understand the naming problem!

[daiv]

Oh wow! Then your plant is really etiolated!

All of the growth should look like the part where the flower is.

This is it:

http://www.cactiguide.com/cactus/?genus ... x+hybridus

More info here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disocactus_%C3%97hybridus

[charlpic]

I'll then stop worrying about the names and try to grow healthy plants. I just can't give it more natural light for next month or so. It has also been kept in cheap cactus soil and peat... should I repot now or wait until it has more light ?

[Harriet]

Skip the peat. I have mine in a mix of cheap cactus soil, "orchid bark" and some perlite. They are doing OK, but maybe there are others on the forum with a better soil "formula".

[daiv]

If any cactus can be grown with peat, this would be one of them. I would still 'cut' the soil with some inorganic perlite or cat litter or similar. I've added "orchid bark" as Harriet suggests to my epi mixes and it has been great.

In Canada, you've got the long, dark winter to contend with. But one thing great about this plant (which is a big reason it is so popular) is that it is especially hardy. These can easily be overwintered at a low temp (40F or so) and they will sit dormant until spring. Then you can move them out in spring and they'll grow and flower like crazy. Many epis won't tolerate a cold, dry winter like that, but this one will.

[LeeVan]

Hi,
Here in the Netherlands whe have long dark winters like in Canada. I have the best results when I keep them at 9 degrees celsius (48F) minimum. I've tried it, but 40F for a period of 4 months and more, like the winters here, stressed them to much.
I don't use peat soil, to hard to get it wet again without soaking the soil, when it's dried out completely. A mix of coir (cocopeat),acid compost (neadle forest), perlite and orchid bark with some time release fertiliser does fine for me. It takes up water very easily and allows You to gradually increase the watering as soon as the temps and light levels are getting higher.

Gr.L.

[Zap Branigan]

It's been about 4 yrs. since i had any cacti but came up with this mix:
Miracle-Gro palm,cactus and citrus soil fast drainig coarse materials contains sphagum peat moss and manure fortified with iron and bone meal.
It says mix 1-1 with native soil and not for use in containers (but what do they know ).
I mixed 3/4-1 with sand and added 1/4 river pebbles.
The plants seem to like it so far i'll see how this holds up when the rainy season gets here as all my plants are outside semi exposed.