Orchid Cacti and the Home Greenhouse

This month the spectacular group of plants, called by many Western growers “orchid cacti” and by the botanists “hybrid epiphyllums” are coming into flower. Plants may be purchased, or if you are fortunate enough to obtain a cutting, this can be easily rooted, even in water, believe, it or not. When well rooted, plant in a good potting soil. The plant grows awkwardly and luxuriantly… a yard or so in every direction… while you wait patiently for some sign of flower buds. In May (or a bit later if plants have been set outdoors) blossoms appear, their beauty being excelled only by the flowering trees of the tropics.

To me there seem to be two general classes of these unusual plants, distinguished by their growth habit… one being upright and the other more sprawling and requiring support. Epiphyllum Ackermannii, I got years ago with flattened stems (often incorrectly referred to as leaves) are triangular in shape and quite ugly until suddenly a sizable scarlet, trumpet, pops from every joint… a real thrill, to any plant lover.

The second class includes the real photogenic prima donnas. The fleshy stems are flat and scalloped along the edges; the new growth is generally reddish in color. The plant is sprawling in habit and requires support to keep it from taking up too much space. Flowers, 6 inches or more in diameter, are drooping and curved like a pipe; petals are numerous, and in the center is a conspicuous cluster of stamens. Flower colors are indefinable shades of red and purple. They resemble in form the night-blooming cereus (Epiplyllum oxypetalum and hybrids) but are usually larger, are day blooming and more lasting.

In the greenhouse for the next few months shade and the moisture supply must be carefully controlled. With no shade and little moisture a desert condition is simulated. Plants such as cacti, aloes, euphorbias, echeverias, stapelias and their sun loving ilk are the only ones which are happy.

With shade, ventilation and ample moisture in soil and atmosphere, the unlimited tropical flora are at the command of the lucky amateur.

Orchid houses invariably have a heavy coating of whitewash or a commercially prepared shading compound. The latter is generally denser and more lasting… too much so, perhaps, for a few months from now we will again want all the light we can get.

The result may be inelegant but effective. and if two rainless days follow the application it will set and not be easily washed off; lt is often advisable to put on a light coat now and add more later in midsummer when the days are brighter and the sun more intense. The greedy gardener will omit shading on a little south corner for a few sun-loving pets.

Happy House Plants Outdoors for Some

Skillful amateurs manage to make many greenhouse plants happy outdoors for the summer by carefully imitating their native growing conditions. North light suits many house plants, morning sun others, while slat houses give just the protection appreciated by many exotics, including most orchids and bromeliads.

A large pot of Cattleya Bowringiana sunk in a bed of peat in a semi-shaded spot one hot summer grew fat sheaths by October and, brought indoors, made record spikes of bloom. The dwarf citrus, including Meyer’s dwarf lemon, orange and ponderosa lemon do well, and the night fragrant jasmine, Cestrum nocturnum, rewards cruel cutting back by exploding into showers of greenish stars that scent the night air a couple of times a season.

The exodus of plants from the greenhouse during the summer gives elbow room to pamper the permanent inhabitants which require special conditions or would not take kindly to the outdoors. In my greenhouse those left indoors comprise a large productive clump of bird-of-paradise, a huge Crinum, Hedychium coronarium (the fragrant white ginger-lily), some Tacca Chanterii (the bat Flower… a weird curiosity), and philodendron, fern, and tradescantia. Some of these could be set out if it weren’t for the fact that I have them growing in ground beds, making it more difficult to move them.

Clerodendrum Thomsoniae, bougainvillea, hoya and stephanotis are also well established in ground beds along with the romantic Passiflora caerulea. The latter grew out of bounds so I took cuttings which sulked outdoors last summer but are now potted and growing well.

The choice foliage begonias on the stepped bench, and enough succulents, epiphyllums in bloom, bromeliads and miscellaneous “pets” fill the shelves and benches to make one wonder what has been taken out.

Outdoors there is much to do this month. The annual seedlings in flats, rooted cuttings of impatiens, coleus, iresine and others, may have to wait in the coldframe for forget-me-nots and spring bulbs to finish blooming outdoors before there is space to plant them in the garden. Likewise the tuberous begonias in strawberry baskets must be held back as they will suffer a setback if set out when it is too cool. Plants that grow too large before they can be safely set out may also suffer, so make a note to start them a few weeks later next season.

by V Griff

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