Any advice?

[sundanz]

I'm trying something new this year, Stapelia and Epiphyllum. I bought several leaves (stalks) of both plants and potted them. From reading these posts I know that some of you grow them successfully and I would like to be in that category!:-)
Can you give me some tips on growing these into large plants? I usually just grow cactus but have never attempted to grow these!
Any and all advice would be greatly sppreciated!

Thank you
Karin

[oldcat61]

Try this website for care tips: http://mattslandscape.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; They no longer sell thru the website but are on ebay as "thousandsofblooms. Great folks to deal with & I've been pleased with what I ordered. Marcy was even able to pot up something from their GH that they don't normally sell. Sue

[bluetexasbonnie]

For my stapelia, I grow them in both the dirt and in pots. My dirt is a heavy, shallow, black clay. In pots, I use mostly compost and some perlite. I say all that to suggest that the actual soil mix is not that important to them. It is certainly drier here than in Tyler. (I have a sister who lives in Athens - she gets at least twice as much rain as we do.) I think water/drainage is a bigger issue. I rarely water mine - a spritz with the hose 2-3x per month and what ever rain we get.

They can not stand much cold. You should have at least some in pots to bring in for the winter. Here in south Texas, I cover my outside ones with 6-8 inches of hay for the winter. They look awful, and some still get black tips from being to cold, but they survive, thrive and by sumemr multiply. March thru September, I fertilize every two months with a good organic fertilizer. (Here, Medina Growin Green is the cheapest of the organic based fertilizer, so that is what I use.) I have them planted in shade, partial shade and sun. The best results for me seem to be the partial shade -- those that are just on the inside of tree driplines.

For my epiphyllum, contrary to everything I read, I grow the pots standing in a few inches of water. Admittedly that is probably not the best, because when I repot, there are no roots below that water line. However, it is so hot and dry here, that I can not keep them watered/cool/hydrated enough without their tubs of water. All are grown in large (3-5 gallon) plastic pots. I use lean compost (horse manure based) and perlite for the growing media. They are fertilized at the same time as the stapelia. If I don't fertilize, they don't bloom.

Mine sunburn easily and are grown in bright shade.

They tolerate less cold than the stapelia. I always trim some back severely and bring them in for the winter. (And of course, stick most of the cuttings in a pot.) The severely pruned and overloaded cutting pots come in. I try to remember to water them every 3-4 weeks.

Some pots are just too big and too loaded to move. These are covered with hay and a prayer. Most years they come thru with little to no damage. When that happens, there are lots of blooms. This winter was very cold and for long periods of time. I feared that I had lost all the outside ones. They had to be cut back to 1/3 their size -- I basically cut off everything that was discolored or glassy from the cold. They are working on regaining their size -- which is normally 3-4 feet tall and a sprawling spread of at least that much. It remains to be seen whether they bloom well or not.

Bottom line -- little water for the stapelia. Lots of water for the epiphyllium. Fertilizer for everybody during the growing season.

[apfire]

Try this site for epi info. http://www.epiforums.com/

[Saxicola]

What kind of Stapelia do you have?

They are fairly easy to grow if you water them regularly during the summer (for a succulent, don't get carried away of course). During the winter keep them pretty dry unless you are keeping them somewhere warm (above 50 degrees at night). You will probably get flowers in late summer.

[sundanz]

Kyle, thanks! My plants are Stapelia Gigantea. They are growing nicely!
Karin

[CactusFanDan]

During the winter keep them pretty dry unless you are keeping them somewhere warm (above 50 degrees at night). You will probably get flowers in late summer.

Summer night temperatures here at the moment. Mine have been outside since around April, just after freezing temperatures had past and they're doing fine. They only really grow when it's warm for me, but when they're actively growing they grow fast!