Epiphyllum aka Orchid Cactus

Identifying the Orchid Cactus

Epiphyllum hookeri aka: Climbing Cactus, Hooker's Orchid Cactus

Sometimes called Orchid Cactus, but the true Orchid Cactus (i.e., Christmas Cactus) are in Schlumbergera or Disocactus genus, which are closely related.

Light: Sun to Partial Shade; Indirect or filtered preferred. Do not expose to sunlight during the heat of the day. A healthy plant will show dark green growth with red edges. Sunburned or yellow, withered leaves is an indicator of too much sun light. Small segment growth that appears limp is an indicator of too little light.

Watering: The roots must never dry out, but the top ⅓” of soil should become dry between watering. Over-watering will cause the root system to rot away in less than a month.

Bloom Time: Mid Summer to Early Fall

Bloom Color: Red, pink, orange, violet, yellow. White (night blooming)

Flowering: Flowers form green tubes at the base, which spread out into 4”-6” blossoms. Never disturb a plant that is actively flowering except to water it (touching the blossoms may cause them to fall off the plant).

Soil: Well draining. Best mixture is 3 parts potting soil to 1 part pumice, bark chips or perlite (pumice is preferred)

Re-potting: Every 2 years, transplant up to a pot just one size larger. Do not remove the soil from around the roots. Just shake the excess off and fill in the gaps around the roots with new soil.

Fertilizer: Summer & Fall: A balanced mixture such as 10-10-10 once a week, diluted to ¼ teaspoon per gallon. Spring: a blooming fertilizer such as 7-9-5 should be used. Winter rest period, use the balanced fertilizer, but reduce feeding to once per month.

Resting Period: In order to ensure blooms in the following year, these plants require a winter resting period. Beginning in December, move plant into an unheated, dark room. Provide it with daylight during the normal hours the sun is up. Watering should be minimal during this time. Remove from resting room in early March or when buds form.

Growth: Natural growth periods are spring and fall. Stems begin as round bases that grow to 7” long. Future cactus segments will begin as plump sections which will mature into flat segments up to 30” long each. The edges have a natural wavy appearance, with each wave point containing cactus spines. It will continue producing additional segments in a fern-like manner, arching toward the ground. Will grow to 4 feet wide, but plant will get messy & unattractive if not pruned. Control width by removing cactus segments at the segment origin point only.

If you allow them to grow you will soon have a tangled mess of a plant which will need much pruning and when that happens it will leave the plant with a lot of very unattractive, scarred stems.