Colorful cacti!
An easy-to-grow plant with beautiful blooms
If you are looking for a plant to fill a hanging basket, the orchid cactus is a perfect choice. It is an unusual-looking cactus that is an epiphyte whose native habitat is the rain forests of Central and South America. Growing high up in the crotch of a tree, it depends upon leaf debris to provide water and nutrients. From its lofty perch, the orchid cactus trails down its long, twisting branches.
It is hard to imagine cacti growing in a rain forest, but epiphytes do. Unlike their desert cacti cousins, orchid cacti have no spines. They also have no leaves, only branches.
Although an epiphyte needs no soil in its native habitat, the orchid cactus grows
fine in a soil mix of one part soil and one part perlite or coarse sand. It likes being root bound and prefers a small pot in order to bloom. Every four to five years you will need to move the plant to a slightly larger pot.
Use bottled water and a small amount of balanced fertilizer when watering. Overwatering will encourage fungus gnats to hatch and fly around your home and may rot the plant’s roots.
For most of the year, the orchid cactus is a plain Jane with long, jointed branches hanging down. In spring, like Cinderella, it transforms into a spectacular plant with large, colorful blooms dotting its branches.
You must mimic the rain forest’s winter conditions in order to have those spectacular spring blooms. From November through January, let your plant “rest.” Water sparingly and stop fertilizing. In the daytime, place the plant in a cool location that is 60 to 65 degrees and receives filtered sunlight. At night, place the plant in a cool location that is 50 to 55 degrees and is completely dark, such as your garage.
If you do not want to move your plant from one place to another during the winter months, keep it in a cool room with filtered sunlight. Each evening, darken the room. Too much light during its resting period will cause the plant to not bloom.
By February, buds will appear in the notches of its jointed branches. Once buds appear, begin regular watering using a small amount of fertilizer. By spring, you will be rewarded with a multitude of orchid-like blooms.
Native orchid cacti have white blooms, but there are over 13,000 hybrid varieties that bloom in all colors of the rainbow and at different times. Growing several varieties of orchid cacti will provide you with blooms from April through July. Plants with white or yellow blooms open in April, pink and red blooms open in May, and deep red and purple blooms open in July.
It is often difficult to find an orchid cactus for sale at a nursery since they seem to be more of a pass-along plant shared from friend to friend. However, they can be found for sale on eBay and other websites.
New plants are easy to root from cuttings. Cut off a piece of stem and let the cut end dry for about a week before planting it in soil. Bury two joints of the stem in soil and water as needed. In 2-3 years, the plant will begin flowering.
If you would like to see orchid cacti in bloom next spring, visit the 1,500 plant collection at the Los Angeles County Arboretum or the 600 plant collection at Safari Park’s Botanical Garden in San Diego.
Happy gardening.