How to Grow and Care for Epiphyllum (Orchid Cactus) and When It Blooms

Epiphyllum is a perennial evergreen epiphytic plant of the cactus family. Because its stems are flat and lanceolate, shaped like an arrow, and its flowers resemble water lilies, it is called Epiphyllum (Orchid Cactus). It is often used as a green plant to accent places in the home such as windows, balconies and entrance halls. Below let us take a look at the growing methods and precautions for Epiphyllum:

The growth habits of Epiphyllum

Epiphyllum likes a warm and humid environment, avoids direct sunlight, tolerates drought, tolerates partial shade, fears rain, and requires fertile, loose, well-drained neutral or slightly acidic sandy loam. The optimum temperature during the growing period is 20-25°C, the optimum temperature for flower bud differentiation is between 10-15°C, the winter temperature must not be lower than 5°C, and the flowering period is April.

Epiphyllum should be grown in loose, fertile and well-drained soil, and it likes fertilizer, so during the growing period it needs more fertilizer to allow it to bloom on schedule and produce beautiful flowers. It is suited to a warm and humid environment; do not let the balcony give it direct sunlight. It tolerates drought and fears rain. Although it likes humidity, the soil for growing Epiphyllum should still be kept on the drier side, otherwise it will cause root rot.

The growing methods for Epiphyllum

Growing Epiphyllum through the four seasons

Spring

During the growing season of Epiphyllum, pay attention to sufficient light and timely fertilizing. Apply a fertilizer combining nitrogen and phosphorus once every 10-15 days to promote healthy growth of flowers and leaves. Avoid water accumulating in the pot to prevent root rot. Starting in April, flower buds emerge at the edges of the upper half of the fleshy leaves and gradually swell, then burst into bloom half a month later. If at this time the plant lacks nutrients and its growth is weak, it will not bloom or will bloom little. To prevent this, apply 1-2 extra applications of quick-acting phosphorus fertilizer in advance. At the same time, remove excessive side buds and branch buds at the base.

Summer

During the vigorous growth period, apply 1-2 topdressings mainly of nitrogen in a timely manner. This both promotes new branches and leaves and helps produce more buds and more flowers next spring. If you want to increase the number of stem segments, you must seize this favorable period to keep buds. In the high heat of midsummer, Epiphyllum enters a semi-dormant period; it should be placed in a ventilated, cool, semi-shaded spot, fertilizing stopped, watering not too much, and the potting soil kept slightly dry, to prevent excessive shading that causes leggy growth and affects flowering.

The growing methods for Epiphyllum

Autumn

This is the second vigorous growth period of the year. The new leaves gradually age and mature. The management and care methods are basically the same as in spring and early summer between May and June. Apply 2-3 topdressings, mainly phosphorus and potassium fertilizer. Also increase the light duration.

Winter

After Frost's Descent, the weather turns cold, so it needs to be moved indoors for warmth. It can be placed in a sunny spot indoors, with the room temperature kept at 8°C. Stop fertilizing, restrict watering, and keep the potting soil on the drier side, as too much moisture will cause the leaves to wilt and fall over and cause root rot. After spring, from mid-March to early April, as temperatures rise, gradually extend the time for opening windows for ventilation and hardening off, to lay the foundation for later moving it outside for care.

Propagation methods for Epiphyllum

Epiphyllum is commonly propagated by cuttings. Because its leaf-like stems are rather thick, the cut surface is very sensitive to soil moisture; if too wet the cuttings rot easily, and if too dry the branches become shriveled and weak. Even for cuttings that have successfully rooted, in continuous rainy weather the original cut surface also rots easily. Therefore, most hobbyists consider it rather difficult to propagate Epiphyllum at home. Through years of observation, practice and comparison, the author found that the inverted cutting method can overcome many unfavorable factors, greatly increase the survival rate, and produce growth clearly superior to the ordinary cutting method.

The growing methods for Epiphyllum

The specific method is as follows: bury the upper end of a stem segment about 10 cm long with its tip into the soil to a depth of about 7 cm, with the lower cut end exposed above the soil surface; roots will form in 20 days, and in about 40 days new branches can break through the soil. The section from the new roots to the cut end naturally shrivels and dries up within 1 year. This method effectively solves the problem of the cut surface rotting easily and does not restrict soil moisture. Moreover, unlike the ordinary cutting method, the more sufficient the water and fertilizer in the soil, the more vigorous the growth of the cuttings; even with controlled water and fertilizer they can still grow completely normally, without the branches becoming shriveled and weak, and the survival rate is above 90%. From a botanical standpoint, this can also be fully explained reasonably: Epiphyllum has no leaves, so plant respiration is limited; therefore the tip of the modified stem and the tissues at some stem nodes gradually develop aerial roots (adventitious roots) to help with respiration. When adventitious roots encounter soil and moisture, they quickly develop into permanent roots, enabling the plant to survive. The inverted cutting method was successfully tested using this principle.

Water and fertilizer management

When watering Epiphyllum, in spring and autumn give a thorough watering every 5 or 6 days. In summer, water less and just keep the potting soil semi-dry; especially avoid water accumulating in the pot and being exposed to rain, to prevent root rot caused by excessive moisture. In the morning you can spray water on the stem segments and around the plant to increase air humidity. In winter, control watering and keep the potting soil slightly moist. Note that Epiphyllum is afraid of waterlogging, so after watering, loosen the soil promptly to speed up evaporation. Epiphyllum likes fertilizer, but cannot tolerate raw or concentrated fertilizer; during its growing period, apply once about every ten days a water solution of decomposed and fermented sesame paste residue. After buds appear, some phosphorus and potassium fertilizer can be applied as well; do not apply nitrogen fertilizer, otherwise flowering will be affected. Generally do not fertilize in winter and early spring.

Light and temperature control

Epiphyllum likes light. In spring and autumn, when placed outside a greenhouse, it should be put in a sheltered, sunny spot. In summer, 50% of the light should be shaded to avoid direct strong midday sunlight. In winter in the greenhouse, it should receive as much light as possible. Epiphyllum likes a warm environment and cannot tolerate low temperatures. In winter the humidity in the greenhouse should be kept above 10°C; if the temperature is too low it is prone to cold damage, and if too high it easily causes leggy growth of the stem segments. Move it indoors in mid-October and move it outside after Grain Rain in spring.

Pruning and shaping

When pruning and shaping, first remove excessive branch buds at the base so that each pot keeps 3 to 4 main stem segments; too many main stems are not good for the plant's shape. Second, promptly remove excessive new side buds on the main stem segments to prevent excessive consumption of nutrients and affect the plant's bud formation and flowering. In addition, appropriately pinching and topping the plant is also very necessary, as it can make the stem segments thick, plump and strongly upright.

How many years until Epiphyllum blooms? In which month does it usually bloom?

New branches that sprout from Epiphyllum in the current year generally do not bloom; it must be grown for 1 to 2 years before it has the possibility of blooming. Epiphyllum does not sprout and bloom in the same year. Rather, it sprouts in the current year, differentiates flower buds after autumn (or possibly after autumn of the second year), and only blooms from April to June of the following year. In addition, whether a leaf-like branch that is already capable of blooming will actually bloom is also affected by multiple factors at that time, which is to say that cultivation and management must keep up.