Great Winter Bloomers

Once if finally blooms you should get several good years of bloom. Mine likes the North window that it is in. I missed it the first time it bloomed-it took several years and I had stopped paying much attention to it. I had an evening where perfume took over my great room and I could not find it's source. The next day I found the spent bloom so I new what to watch for. The best year I had 12-14 blooms over a couple of days. When it blooms I sit on the couch next to it with a glass of wine and my husband. I stay on the couch staying awake as long as I can and finally let sleep prevail. A couple of times I have invited flower loving friends for the experience. It has dwindled to a few blooms a season and I am thinking of starting over with some cuttings.
In the summer I take it outdoors, hose it down and give it a good haircut. It is grown into the bakers shelving that it is on so I have to take the whole thing outdoors. I give it orchid fertilizer.
Worth the trouble for the experience
 
journey11 said:
Welcome, Masoud! :frow What a lovely shade of purple!

Cat, is that aka. an Epiphyllum? I couldn't really tell about the greens, but the bloom looks similar.
Click to expand...
Yes. Here is what Logees says about it. There is where I purchased it.
Night Blooming Cereus (Epiphyllum oxypetalum)
Pure white flowers, the size of a dinner plate, open as soon as the sun goes down and stay open all night, then close in the morning. This wondrous sight is also a heady experience because of the intoxicating fragrance. It blooms in waves during the summer months, with sometimes as many as 15 flowers open at once. Nature's ability to manifest such a magnificent creation leaves us in awe of this wonderful epiphyllum. As for all members of the Orchid Cactus family, a period of dryness and cool nighttime temperatures in the winter ensures summer bloom.
- See more at: http://www.logees.com/Night-Blooming-Cereus/productinfo/S7507-2/#sthash.3Ybcar34.dpuf
 
I have started a smaller plant, since mine got so leggy it was stabbing people in the eye! And we are certainly having "cool" nighttime temps. Maybe I will get lucky and have a few blooms this summer. I agree with you, the fragrance is so incredible. I feel bad that the beautiful flower only lasts one night...
 
Cat, the picture of your night blooming cereus is gorgeous! I have not had the fortune of seeing an actual bloom, and life is short!

Everybody,
Many thanks for warm "welcomes"!
Masoud
 
catjac1975 said:
Yes. Here is what Logees says about it. There is where I purchased it.
Night Blooming Cereus (Epiphyllum oxypetalum)
Pure white flowers, the size of a dinner plate, open as soon as the sun goes down and stay open all night, then close in the morning. This wondrous sight is also a heady experience because of the intoxicating fragrance. It blooms in waves during the summer months, with sometimes as many as 15 flowers open at once. Nature's ability to manifest such a magnificent creation leaves us in awe of this wonderful epiphyllum. As for all members of the Orchid Cactus family, a period of dryness and cool nighttime temperatures in the winter ensures summer bloom.
- See more at: http://www.logees.com/Night-Blooming-Cereus/productinfo/S7507-2/#sthash.3Ybcar34.dpuf
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link... I have a couple epi's and have babied them for 4 years. Can't figure out what I'm doing wrong, but I am still waiting to get a bloom! I think this year I'm going to plant them outside in partial shade during the warm summer months and see if I can't get some good growth on them. Maybe I have not fertilized enough...

ETA: Logee's has some really cool stuff. My MIL gave me a red passionvine from them and it has become one of my favorites. Something else that requires babying!
 
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Here is an epi that flowered for me two summers ago.

Epi - lavender.JPG

My suggestion to get them to flower is ignore them. This was hanging on the deck.
 
I
journey11 said:
Thanks for the link... I have a couple epi's and have babied them for 4 years. Can't figure out what I'm doing wrong, but I am still waiting to get a bloom! I think this year I'm going to plant them outside in partial shade during the warm summer months and see if I can't get some good growth on them. Maybe I have not fertilized enough...

ETA: Logee's has some really cool stuff. My MIL gave me a red passionvine from them and it has become one of my favorites. Something else that requires babying!
Click to expand...
I would not disturb them from their pot and be patient.
 
Cyclamens do well in winter in a cool greenhouse or by a sunny window in a cool room.
I have an old plant that sets seeds every year and allows me to have a good supply of young cyclamens.

image.jpg
Mom

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Babies

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A young cyclamen

It was a surprise to see pure white flowers from the seeds of a pink cyclamen!
 
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