Growing Information:

·         Sunlight:

•            This plant will do well in lots of bright light all year long. Needs bright, filtered light for indoors and partial shade for out door.

•            It is a “shade plants” only in hot climates – where they can spend the summer near a protective north wall or in the dappled shade from a tree. Otherwise, they need sunlight in fall, winter, and spring, and shade only when summer sun becomes searing hot.

·         Soil Conditions:

•            A light, porous, humus-rich mixture or a nice light mix of sand, perlite, and a bit of sphagnum peat that will hold some moisture would be good for this plant and yet will drain quickly.

•            The soil should be coarse, not finely sifted; slightly acid; and for further aeration and purification, generously supplied with small bits of crushed charcoal.

•            Nitrogen-rich fertilizers are not recommended.

·         Lifecycle:

•         Evergreen

·         Grow form Cutting:

•            Cut a 4” – 6” cutting from an epiphyllum oxypetalum. Let the cuttings dry and cool, until the cut edge is dry or forms a callus. (It may take several days - 2 weeks, depending on the size of the cut surface. If the cutting looks a bit shriveled, it will re-hydrate once it's planted.) Cacti are susceptible to rot, and this step will minimize the chances of that.

•            Fill a container (with drainage holes in the bottom) with coarse potting mixture. Dampen the potting mixture lightly with a spray bottle. Insert the cutting 1.5” - 2” deep into the slightly moist rooting medium.

•            Put container in good light but not sun. Do not water and keep temperatures 65-75°F (18-23°C). If the days are hot, only mist the cutting not the soil. Cutting will root in several weeks.

•            Transplant the rooted cuttings into the proper medium, water as mentioned above.

•            Throughout the process, handle the cuttings with care; bruises or broken spots on stems or new roots give fungus rot a way to enter.

·         Care and Maintenance:

•            The active growing season starts in early spring. The plants need constant moisture in the air and for the roots. Misting or spraying the stems, except when the plants are in bud or flower, both humidifies and cleans the leaves of clogging dust.

•            Fertilize the plant monthly during the spring and summer with a low-nitrogen liquid product. If you have added a light humus to the potting mixture, a newly potted plant will not need feeding for the first year. 

•            Epiphyllums enjoy moist air and some sun. If the weather is mild, the pots are best moved outdoors.

•            In winter, give the plants a slight drying off during its dormancy but never let them become perfectly dry.