Epiphyllum oxypetalum was my very first epiphyllum. A friend’s mother gave me three long cuttings, which were cut in half to make six cuttings. They grew like weeds, and I was quite pleased with them. At the time, they were the only epiphyllum that I wanted. The wide nocturnal flowers are strikingly pure white and nicely fragrant, and stay open late into the morning if the weather is right. Since white is my favorite color, I craved no more.
Then I got bits of another epiphyllum from one of my clients. I do not know if it really is a species of epiphyllum, but it grows just like one, with the exception of the bloom. Rather than only a few huge nocturnal flowers, it blooms with many smaller pink flowers that remain open all day. It lacks fragrance. It is not as impressive as Epiphyllum oxypetalum, but it is colorful for a longer time. Besides, now that I got it, I must continue to grow it.
Shortly afterward, I acquired a bit of another epiphyllum from another client. I expected it to bloom with a bright red flower, but it did nothing. In fact, it sat around for a few years without doing anything. Finally, it bloomed for the first time this year. That is the surprise.
This red epiphyllum that bloomed last year is not mine. It belongs to a colleague who hangs it in public garden at work while it is blooming. This is what I expected mine to look like. I sort of believe that it happens to be one of the more popular cultivars of epiphyllum.
What I got instead was these intriguing pink blooms! I don’t know what to think. The clear whit Epiphyllum oxypetalum is still my favorite, and I really like the rich red, but these pink flowers are totally rad too!
This post is interesting. I have the white and the red but have not seen the pink Epiphyllum. It’s lovely!
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I see that there are many cultivars at the garden shows, but until recently, I had no interest in them. I was pleased with what I had. The white is a cultivar, but it is also a separate species from the rest.
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Oh my goodness, is this an example of one of those genuses that are tropicals and really shouldn’t be houseplants? You have done such magnificent things with these–and here in the frozen north, we struggle to grow them at all! I confess, I have never even tried because I had heard how impossible they were. Your plants are gorgeous. Thanks for sharing.
Karla
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One of the best Epiphyllum oxypetalum that I have ever seen was grown as a houseplant. It did not bloom much, but it was very happy. I think that those who want to grow them in colder climates just bring them in for winter. They get damaged by frost even here if too exposed.
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Truly beautiful flowers!
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Thank you. I am getting to appreciate them more.
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They are addictive, I keep getting more and more in different colours which is silly because they take up so much room and bloom for such a short time. But they are dazzling.
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That is what I intend to avoid. I have these three, and might get a fourth, but that might be my limit.
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Wow, that pink one is amazing. Like multiple flowers in one. And the color!!!
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Yes, it is wild. The white is still my favorite, but I really dig all three.
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Such fabulous rich jewel like colours. I can see why you grow these.
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I did not plan to grow them, but could not pass on the offer of bits of the white one. The others came later, just because bits broke off of a colleagues plant, and off of a plant of a client. Now that I am growing these, I want bits from plants that a colleague down south grows. One is pale yellow, and the other is bright orange.
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