Hello, I do not have any Epi's to trade because i just discovered the plant itself. Would you happen to have any extra's to share.. Thank you in advance Cindy

Hi! I just recently bought an Epi from "jojo02891" on ebay. He/She sent me a beautiful cutting AND threw in an extra one for good measure as a "gift". They are doing great. I only got them about a month ago so there hasn't been much action on the cuttings yet. But they are still alive and healthy. Hope that helps.

Hey Karen, Sorry it seems like I couldn't see a good chunk of your last post when I first responded or maybe I forgot to scroll down. 5-1-1 mix is 5 parts pine bark (fairly fine like the reptibark you use, 2-10mm range), 1 part pumice or turface or some other porous rock (I use pumice), and 1 part peat. Just recently I made the mix with slightly larger bark fines (5-15mm), so we will see if that results in better growth. Like you say, epiphytic cacti like fast draining mixes and are used to very loose soil/organic matter. I'm not intent at all on removing the peat from roots dry. In fact, the last plant I potted up I removed all of the peat wet as you've suggested, but I did water it in straight away. I think your suggestion to remove the peat with water and then wait a few days to water the plant in is a good idea, I will definitely try that out in the future. Some of the plants I've ordered via the internet have the root ball in plastic bags so they have to be potted up immediately. As far as being confident that my mix is better than straight peat from the nursery, I'm fairly certain it is. Besides the fact that peat is overly water-retentive for these plants, it typically comes fairly compacted from the nursery meaning there is no structure or air gaps in the soil. Using a 5-1-1 type mix allows me to water more frequently (good for root health and gas exchange) and my established plants are growing really well. Thinking about the issue carefully I think that perhaps the combination of root loss when getting rid of the peat, coupled with perhaps potting up into too much soil (given the drastically reduced root ball) might be the problem. I've noticed that when I repot plants that are actually composed of many different cuttings shoved in the same pot, the newly repotted individual cuttings are more prone to this problem. In contrast I've had less issues potting up larger plants composed of 1-2 cuttings with much larger root balls, even after removing the peat. I live in Barcelona. The botanic garden is a bit of a haul to get to, but I think I know a grower or two that I can talk to. Regarding twisting off stems as you say, it might also depend on the species. For example my R. grandiflora, pachyptera, and paradoxa all have stem segments that narrow down where they attach to the stem. Thus the resulting wound is pretty small, especially if the segment you twist off is already loose. In contrast when you cut an epi right across the middle of the stem the wound is quite large and I would be very suprised if it did not rot were you to immediately pot it up.

Yes Jasmine hello , i thought about 20years ago my epiphyllums also had virus , i even was advised to throw them away which i did with some of them at least. i even thought fungus rust and fusarium etc . after much thought it occurred to me that it only started after i started to fertilze and it also occurred at the end of the season after the feeds? . The epiphyllum experts book i mentioned led me to ponder the disorder related to too much feed particulary nitrogen and and later i discovered from some cacti and succulent experiments carried out by an expert , the conclusions were that feeding cacti at even normal and high levels damaged and harmed the plants and that cacti definately dont like even half strength fertilizers ! I stopped the feeding and flushed all my epiphllums in the sink . new growth was clean, even in the badly infected (virused) plants they where the ones i didnt have the heart to throw away . your epiphyllum oxypetalum naturally lives in leaf litter in trees so they are used to very low nutrient levels and the rain flushes the roots . Epiphllums need very low feeding and are ok till you start feeding them like an ordinary houseplant . sometimes even the amount of feed in the compost you buy is too much. (adding pumice and perlite etc makes the compost weaker, as well as adding drainage and air etc). i have found that not feeding (at least at first ) is the way to go .then 1/4 even 1/8 next season and only if needed . and flush plain water a few times when outside in the summer . there is nothing you can do about the affected parts but i sincerely hope you hold off the feed and flush you see, watering with little runoff causes a build up and concentration of undesirable substances slowly , even if not feeding . however i can see its a big plant so dont worry about flushing just now . just think about what you said , you said you didnt or cant remember feeding the two years previous but you did last seaon and the problem only occurred in the Autumn after the feeding . i think your epiphyllums new growth will be fine . by the way viruses of course exist in epiphyllums but it often looks different more like a mottling like the epi on the table in the video but it can also look similar. so in honesty i cant and wont rule out a virus . i just thought i would let you know it might not be .and there is hope for your epiphyllum by simply not feeding yet, then at a low level and flushing the pot when you conveniently can .