Epi cuttings

[leland]

I take 6 to 8 inch epiphyllum cuttings in the rainy season when there is high ambient humidity. I let them dry in the shade one day and then pot them in small containers to save space and materials and water about weekly. When I see signs of growth, a new cylindrical stem on the one on the left and a new flat stem on the one on the right, I move them up to 1 gallon hanging baskets with a coarse orchid mix to grow out for the next 2 years or so.
In a drier climate I might use more planter mix and water more frequently.

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[CactusFanDan]

Cool! I've done this, but with much smaller pieces of stem. A single 2-3 foot length of stem can be cut up into lots of smaller lengths and rooted in the same way. That reminds me, I need to bring my Epi's inside for the Winter.

[oldcat61]

What temps do you keep your epis for the winter? I'm trying to leave them in the GH - too big for the house. Sue

[leland]

Some of the folks in temperate climates can advise on minimum temps, dryness, etc., and these are probably species-specific, too.
In habitat the lowest night time temps I have seen are 65 ish F. in middle elevations and 55 ish F. in the mountains, and the winters are dry by tropical standards. How much lower they could go I don`t know.

[hoteidoc]

I just recently brought my Epi hybrid cuttings in. They were putting up with mid-40's. They weren't happy, but that @ low end of temps in my "dormancy" room. They recover fine in the Spring

[greenknight]

I never brought mine in until there was a threat of frost. Cold didn't seem to hurt, as long as they didn't get frozen.

[Tony]

E. oxypetalum and most of the other large, flat stemmed epiphytes I have grown, take quick cold snaps here very well. I haven't tested epiphyllum pumilum or anguliger yet.
I have seen temps drop temporarily (three to four hours) into the low thirties and very rarely the high twenties and they were fine as long as they had some form of overhead protection.
I have a large E. oxypetalum and Selenicereus chrysocardium that live in the shade of a lemon tree. They regularly grow stems out past the canopy of the tree and those exposed stem tips are the only parts that get any frostbite.

[BobbyZ]

All this discussion on temperatures for Epis got me and my wife going. Two nights ago it droped to 38 F ~ 3C. We didn't have frost but it got our mojos working. We brought our Hylocereus in from the patio into our lanai, The dragon fruit was a heavy Momma but I hope to have fruits next year. We don't have a greenhouse but after trimming our palm trees we get more light in our lanai. in addition we brought all our Rhipsalis and almost all our Euphorbiaa indoors. I only have one pot of Epis rooting but we moved it closer to the bedroorm wall where it stays ~ 5 to 10 degrees warmer. We only have two or three days below 30 F and rarely less than 27 F for more than afew hours. We love to travel in winter and there is not always time to put out the frost cloth. Thanjs for the discussion

[CactusFanDan]

According to an old issue of the BCSS quarterly journal Disocactus phyllanthoides is safe down to around -5 degrees Celsius (23F), so they're hardier than they're often given credit for. Since a lot of Epis are hybrids then they're likely to have a mix of all-sorts in there, so many will be really intolerant of cold, whereas some can probably take a frost.