Epiphyllum Hookeri (?) - Advice sought

[726835SB]

Hello,

I adopted this very neglected plant. It had been abandoned years ago and had completely outgrown it's small pot. It was in a sunny, very hot location, received no watering, and was under a balcony, meaning rainfall hitting it was rare. Long story short, it has been through the wringer! However, I think it is a beautiful shape and I hope to revive it.

After some research, I believe it is an epiphyllum, possibly epiphyllum hookeri. Maybe someone here knows for sure? Anyway, epiphyllum is the Christmas Cactus genus - I never imagined they could get this large!

I removed the old (tiny, 9 inch) pot it was in and cut away the crispiest, deadest leaves I could get at. I moved it to a much bigger pot (maybe too big?) and gave it a deep soak. I've been keeping it in my living room the past few days near a bright window to give it a chance to acclimatize.

My questions:

- Is epiphyllum hookeri the correct ID?
- Will the existing leaves revert to a healthy green? Or should I scrap all the ugly material and let the plant regenerate?
- Will this plant be OK as a houseplant (my preference) in a sunny warm room? Or should I plant it outside?

Thanks in advance

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[mcvansoest]

You did a great job!

I do not grow epiphyllums myself so have very little species specific advice for you.

But a few things: I think the bleached green color leaves can revert back to more vibrant green with good care and more ideal conditions than the plant was in before. The brown rims may remain and the dried out spot in one of the pictures is also not going to go away.

Usually when I repot plants I do not water right after doing it because root damage can invariably lead to bad things for the plant especially if the pot does not dry out very fast - which it will probably not do if you keep it inside. So if you know that the plant received some root damage during your repotting keep an eye on it. Hopefully you will see it start to look better pretty soon.

As to location. In my experience keeping a plant like that inside long term is not the best proposition as sunlight through a window is not in anyway equivalent as direct sunlight, but Epiphyllums might be one of the species to try it with, you will know soon enough if you get new growth and it is all spindly and stretched out (etiolated) the plant is not getting enough sunlight, if it looks pretty much normal then the plant is tolerating the conditions. I think these plants may be reasonably tolerant of more shady or less strong sun conditions, but they like it warm both day and night as these often epiphytic plants generally occur in tropical to subtropical regions. This may make them more tolerant of water, but it does also mean that they tend to want it warm all the time.

Hopefully someone with some specific experience growing these will chime in to help out.

[Stan]

Its kept too dry and has that look of too much sun,and now in too much low light. Its not an indoor plant really. It would thrive outdoors in part sun,now that you have it in a bigger pot..just put out asap and it will recover fast.
Can't ID out of bloom. Its like thousands of Epi varieties in leaf shape.

[726835SB]

Thanks all.

I have been doing lots of reading up on epiphyllums. You're right, it sounds like outdoors in mostly shade would be ideal. All that's available in my Southern California yard is full sun. Oh well.

I also found that there's a nursery in LA (Baldwin Park) selling epiphyllums only - Pacific Epiphyllums. They have an excellent care guide:

http://www.pacificepiphyllum.com/conten ... 0Guide.pdf

Also a couple of great YouTube tutorials:

"

Thanks again for the advice. Feeling excited about this new-to-me genus!

[Stan]

Now you have a reason to buy a potted Tree Aloe. Put it in front of the epi in the hottest facing sun,and the Epi will happy. Eventually,you could grow that in a half barrel. My uncle rented a home that came with one..deep green,full of bloom and had filled that half. On the front the porch,got some sun.

[726835SB]

Good advice. I threw one of the rooted sections in behind this brugmansia. Gets half day sun but the brug will provide a lot of shade, especially as it starts to leaf out for spring and summer. The brug also sucks up any water you can throw at it so drainage will never be an issue. It sounds like these two might inhabit similar places in the wild anyway.

[abborean]

looks more like Epiphyllum oxypetalum to me but the bigger epiphyllum with undulate leaves look similar to me. there would be stalks and flowers if this was separated and watered occasionally.