there are several genera of flowering epiphytic cacti that have similar growing forms: selenicereus, hylocereus, epiphyllum and rhipsalis to name the very common ones. sometimes they get confused with each other. what *i* call "night blooming cereus" is actially the rambling species, Epiphyllum oxypetalum. this one blooms ephemerally at night with a gorgeous, heady scent. there are lots of other hybrids and even some species with blooms of many colors lasting one to several days. they don't all have a fragrance, however.

here are a couple examples of epiphyllum hybrids with loads of blooms, each lasting about three days:

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you can try ebay or even search a few sites that sell epi cuttings. there are lots of people who grow these, so you might even head over to the trades page on the C&S forum. i'm bringing a few with me to AZ from oregon, so i have my fingers crossed that they'll acclimate!

-ming

Hi Ming

I bought some of epis from E-bay but some of them made it
and some of them did not(none of them day blooming).
I have one of them that grows so big(as they are suppose to do) that it spreads more than half of my patio and up the pergola.It bloomed several times, cream with some pale pink.
It's got so big that I think it needs to bee transplanted in a bigger pot but I am afraid that it is a task too big for my husband and I. I probably need to wait for our son to visit and maybe the three of us can try.
I hope you can make it to the party exchange in October and
maybe I can get some more advise from you.

Happy Gardening
Rodica

Rodica,
If it is an epiphyllum that you have that needs transplanting, keep in mind that they are one of those plants that actually *likes* to be rootbound!
I have several epi myself, most are outside and really struggling in this heat! I've noticed some do better in the heat than others...

Kevin

kevin,

which epis do the best in the heat for you? on the opposite end of things: here in oregon, we've left epis on the (protected) porch in light frost and they get some die-back, but bounce back in the spring. i plan to leave mine outdoors in tucson all year.

-ming

Let's see, the ones that are doing well (surviving I should say!) are: Sonoma Sunshine, Oxypetallum, Dr. John T. Cox, Zefran Tassel, Pink Plumes, Cooperi, Campfire, Pink Parasol, Connie Mayer, Hylocereus Undatus, Selenicerius Megalanthus, American Sweetheart (barely), Showboat and a couple of others I can't think of off the top of my head.
Some that don't like the heat: Sakurahime, Going Bananas, Kevin ;-(, French Gold, Gold Medal, Melon Whip, Kona Coast, Acadia.

Padre - so so, might have survived if I'd babied it some. Young Nun is barely hanging on.

I leave mine out all winter unless it's going to freeze that night. They seem to handle the cold better than the heat!

Kevin

Mingtea, Your cact above is beautiful. May I have cutting off of it? I can trade for a cutting of a white Night Blooming Cereus (only blooms once at night) or a ginger plant if you'd like. My email is lynchkjunkmail(at)yahoo(dot)com. thanks.

any one have a picture of the epiphyllum called going bananas i just purchased one and found a pic but could not download it and id love to have one for my records