Epiphyllum is a houseplant that belongs to the cactus family. His homeland is tropical and subtropical America and Mexico. The plant does not have leaves of the usual appearance, instead of them, the epiphyllum has leaf-like stems of a dark green color with denticles or needles along the edges.
Epiphyllum wakes up earlier than other flowers, it begins to bloom at the very beginning of spring. This property and some other advantages of the epiphyllum as a houseplant made it one of the most popular and favorite plants among flower growers. However, not everyone knows exactly how to reproduce this flower. But everything turns out to be as easy as shelling pears.
Planting and transplanting of the plant is carried out in early spring. But the cuttings must be prepared in advance, cut off in the fall and put in water, just in time for the spring they will be ready for planting in the ground.
Why is it better to cook cuttings in the fall? The thing is that it is recommended to cut off the epiphyllum regularly, namely, once a year, before the dormant period, that is, after the complete end of flowering, which happens in the fall. Pruning is done for cosmetic and firming purposes. This helps to form a beautiful lush bush of the plant, remove excess young shoots that prevent the epiphyllum from blooming, taking away its strength. At this time, there is a unique opportunity to obtain healthy viable cuttings for further propagation. You will still have to prune them, and in order not to throw them away, you can take care and get a new plant. Even if the next flower at home is clearly superfluous, you can give it to a neighbor, acquaintances or someone else, hardly anyone will refuse such a wonderful present.
And now more about the reproduction of the epiphyllum. Cut cuttings must first be dried in the shade for one to two days. When a thin crust appears at the cut site, place it in a container with water, trying to provide it with space. There should be enough water, excess moisture does not threaten it. After a while, roots will appear on the handle, but you can not transplant them immediately, but wait for the beginning of spring, the roots will get stronger by this time and it will be easier for them to adapt to the soil.
Now a few words about the planting of the epiphyllum. The pot for this flower is not very large, 10 cm in height will be enough. Since in a year it will be necessary to make a transplant, then such a capacity will be enough for this time. But even with the subsequent transplant, a very large pot for the epiphyllum is not needed, and the transplant is needed to a greater extent in order to change the soil.
For the first planting of the plant, that is, from water to soil, you can apply soil from a mixture of soil for cacti with peat in equal proportions. This will be the best option for root development. And already a year later, during the secondary planting, replace the soil with a clean mixture for cacti. By the way, the young epiphyllum will bloom not immediately, but only after two years. But the flower is very large and bright – from pink to red. In addition, the epiphyllum is able to delight others with its flowering for quite a long time..