Epiphyllum - Plant of the Month

The Epiphyllum, otherwise known as the fishbone or zig zag cactus, is a beautifully structured forest cactus that’s ideal for a bright spot with little or no direct light. Although often displayed as a hanging plant, we find they lend themselves to being placed lower down on shelves, side tables or stools to get the full impact of their brilliant form.

Whilst the foliage is reason enough to love this houseplant, they can be encouraged to flower if fed with liquid fertiliser in the spring and summer months, sending out beautiful big blooms from the ends of their leaves.

Epiphyllums like to be kept quite dry, especially during the winter, and benefit from being planted into a pot with sufficient drainage - wait for the top couple of inches of the soil to dry out and then water generously, allowing it to drain before placing it back into it’s spot. In the winter wait for the soil to dry completely between waterings and keep the plant in a cooler spot.

With a well established plant, Epiphyllums are easily propagated so you can expand your collection or give them to fellow plant lovers!

To propagate

Cut a healthy looking leaf from the base near the stem and sit on top of moist compost in a warm area. Make sure to mist the surface of the compost regularly to keep it damp. After a while, roots will start to form - when this happens and they’re established, cover the roots with more compost and care for it as you would the adult plant!