Wow, that's a big beauty! I've been hoping for a picture-- thanks for sharing one!
Now I'll be looking forward to a shot of it in full bloom in the future :)

Oh my, it is huge! It looks good Mentha....thank you for posting the picture.

BTW- what color will the flowers be?

GH

Creme de Menthe blooms a creamy white color with a touch of green. I may have to cut some of it off to be able to keep it in the house, there are a couple branches that sweep the ground. The cats have already found a fun play toy in it. I keep my spray bottle handy and squirt them at every offence. They already ate one of my Schlumbergeras this week. It got knocked off the back of a table. When I found it there were just stubs and a bunch of chewed stems, grrr

Boy, thats quite an established plant! Yep, it needs a trim. This will allow you to make some starts to have in reserve.

I find it is ALWAYS a good idea to have one or two more copies of a plant I lusted after for a long time. This way, if the unforseen does befall it, you don't have to pump the poor kitties stomach just to keep your plant! (I'm teasing, really!)

These are one of the most accident prone plant species that I own. They will leap down at the drop of a hat! They will crash and burn at the merest brush by. They NEVER grow in a balanced manner so are always heavier/topplier on one side. I rarely ever keep one in the house, but when I do, they are ALWAYS in a hanger supported on four sides hooked to the ceiling with a big honkin' bolt.

Thats a beauty, thanks for taking the time to show us!

Cena,
I hate the idea of chopping it to pieces, I cut off my huge Rhipsalis when I got it and had about 7 pots of it, I'm still giving it away. I'm sure I could root some of the CDM and trade them or sell them or something, but it's a beautiful plant and it seems a little shady to sell off something that another grower took years to produce. I know it's my plant and all, but still, it's kind of got the feel of trading for a plant and turning around and selling it. I think I'll enjoy it in it's entirety for a few more weeks before giving it a hair cut.

It's interesting you mention how it would feel somehow almost immoral to sell a plant you got in a trade. I always feel like a little piece of every trade plant still belongs to the person from whom I received it, especially if I'm still in contact with him or her. Plants I buy are wholly mine (but I might feel differently about that, too, if I knew the pro grower from whom I bought) but plants from a trade with a friend are never solely my property...and that's actually a good thing. It makes them extra special.

Although I've only had two business transactions with Jean and Michele, they took the time to tell me why they were late in shipping and when they were going to send out my plants. They answered each of my questions and sent way more than I asked for. That personal touch really gets to me. I like when I call to ask a question they call me by name and ask how I'm doing.
They even sent me a Christmas card, it does makes it kind of like a friendship. Since I feel I have a piece of history in my house, it makes it more special. They have been so involved in the epiphyllum community for so long that it just doesn't feel right using one of their plants that they practically gave away for my own gain. So yes, it does feel like I have piece of them, I might not feel that way if the price of the plant was closer to it's worth, or if they had sent me cuttings, but with as little as they asked for it, I'd feel like I stole from them. Besides, a monster sized plant like this deserves to have a good home, not a hundred of them. It must be at least ten or so years old. I think I'll even name it something like Tarzan or George. I'll just have to find a heavy pot to counter balance the top heaviness of it. I could probably shave a bit off the bottom and plant them in the pot with the mother plant, maybe I can train them to grow a bit more even. I just can't see cutting off as much as needs to be taken off to balance the weight and look. It'll just have to stay lopsided.

Wow!! That is a *big* beauty!
I wouldn't cut it! (At least not yet!)
You'll figure out a way to balance it.

One thing I've often done is place a pot within a pot....if the plant's in a plastic pot, insert that pot into a clay pot that's a size larger...you'd be surprised at how well it works.

I've often placed rocks on one side, too!

I wasn't advocating getting somewhere financially with this plant... really. I was suggesting that you took the time to start one or more clones of this plant. I have been in this position a time or two myself, where I was so glad I had traded/took a cutting of a plant. IF you ever have an unforseen event and loose the plant. This way it is not lost from you forever.

There are just times when you aren't even certain what is going on with the plant and why it is in decline, especially rapidly. I am having such a time with my C. capitella v. t. I also promised to send pieces this Spring, and now I'm wondering if I will HAVE pieces come spring? This is the type of situation I was referring to.

It is amazing that you feel this way about your plant. So many people don't. I cringe whenever I hear about or see people buying Holiday plants just for a few weeks or a month, with Full Intentions of tossing it in the trash in just a short time!

Even if I've never met someone whose plants I end up with. I always have a thought or two, when it blooms or does something significant, how that orginal owner would be so proud, or happy to see it doing so well.

I very well understand what you are saying. I just know that a plant that large, and spectacular would possibly not fare so well in my house. And you always think about things in the sense of 'if you were in charge of that plant, what would you do'?

I'm sorry if I offended you or upset you.

Shhhhhsh! You'll wake the kid!

Happy new year all!

Tom

Cena,
I know you didn't imply to make a mint off of Creme de Menthe. (pun intended) Cutting any of it off seems such a shame. Unless I had someone I trusted enough to share a large amount with, someone who wasn't going to be prone to abandon or neglect it, it will probably stay at least mostly intact. In the spring I'll take a few cuttings for an extra plant. Maybe I can make it asthetically pleasing enough that it will be showable.
The question is, what would I do with as many cuttings as it would take to make it a bit more even, or even not be low enough to be kitty salad? Just one branch would be enough to fill a 10 in pot with cuttings. I'd have to fill at least 5 or 6 gallon sized pots with cuttings, and then some. That's too many extras, even for someone who is prone to kill anything. I just didn't realize it was so big when I asked my husband's friend to get it for me. I joked with him about it being big enough to constitute as a passenger for the car pool lane hehe.
I may have to rig up some sort of hanger or clear off the top of my metal shelf, but there is still the problem of it being lopsided. I wish I'd of known it was so large. For that price, I would have asked him to pick up Canary Princess also. Maybe she still has it, but I'd have to find someone to foster it until I could get down there to pick it up. Our friend is not plant savvy at all, so I can't ask him. Now that I've about filled my house with plants, I need to think about buying redwood lumber, screaning, and plastic for a plant shelter. That way CDM won't need to be trimmed at all, unless someone asks nicely.
No more plants, Rhonda, not one more!
No more plants, Rhonda, not one more!
No more plants, Rhonda, not one more!
I need to keep telling myself that, No more plants, Rhonda, not one more! It'll last all of maybe a week if I'm lucky, but it's a noble idea, isn't it?

Tom,
If you look closely, the little cheese monkey is awake. I just tried to get him out of the picture, so I told him to duck. I guess it didn't work. I wouldn't be surprised if he popped his head up just to get in the picture!

Hi Mentha,

ohhhhhhh Nice Plant!!!

Awwwwwwwww thank you, I am sure that I will like them :)

Hugs

Meesh

Well, um, er. You know I'm down here. Just come out and say it. And No, I would not have a problem fostering...

The Problem Is. Getting it to you. That is a real problem. It would be damaging, and difficult to try to mail an epi not already chopped up (not the way you envisioned getting this one I bet!) so I do not know how to suggest to help you.

When you take cuttings, you don't have to chop them up. You CAN place a cutting of whatever size in a pot. You are back to the beginning again, you need to keep it stable enough to stop leaping out of the pot, and losing all its dirt.

Look into Orchid Clips. I've only seen them in person once, and I barely comprehended how you would use them. Orchids go in bark and when newly repotted, have no staying power within the artificial environment of the pot. So, there is this weird spring clip used to 'hold it in'. Once orchids have a growth spurt, and put out new roots, they tend to 'glue' or adhere themselves to what ever type of pot you use. Until then, clips. Except I've yet to use them...

Glad you took it the way I meant.
I have those talks with Cena all the time. I find she DOESN'T LISTEN! Good thing her husband spends quite the bit on Harley parts or she would REALLY be up the creek with no way to build a fire........

I couldn't very well say, "Hey Cena, if I pay for it, could you pick it up and babysit it indefinately on the off chance I get down there sometime this year." Now could I? I don't even know if she still has it. I guess I'd better find out first before I make Lucy-ish type plans.
Really I don't have a problem with taking cuttings off of CDM, but I was just complaining about the amount I'd have to take of to keep it in the house. So far it's only had a couple run ins with kitties, and I've kept my squirt bottle handy. Now they just look at it and look at me, then walk away, hehe.