**** EPIPHYLLUM WHICH BLOOM ****
**** EVEN IN WINTER ****
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Any cacti collector has dreamed of Epiphyllum blooming in winter, while Schlumbergera (Christmas Cacti) are the only ones to bloom abundantly. In this article, winter will indicate the cold, dark and rainy months, from October to February.
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SOME PRECISIONS ABOUT THIS ARTICLE
Following the setting online of this article, several of my readers found normal that Epiphyllum bloom in winter.
May be this is true under some particularly clement or nearly tropical climates but not in my collection located near Paris.
It's also possible to induce Epiphyllum blooming by using artificial lights and/or by heating the greenhouses.
To clarify my remarks, here are my climatic and cultivation conditions.
In winter, I cultivate my plants in a none artificially lightened greenhouse. I only heat so that the minimal temperature does not go down below approximately 9°C (48.5°F).
My greenhouse is located near in the Paris (48 degrees of Northern latitude) where the climate is temperate with influences due to the proximity of the Atlantic Ocean.
The average, maximum and minimal monthly temperatures of December, November, January and February are indicated below.
But, especially, the months in question are grey and rainy, the sunny days are far from numerous, it's not rare not to see a sunbeam during one whole week. Thus, the level of luminosity is low.
Under these conditions, quite all Epiphyllum don't make any bloom.
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Since I started collecting epiphytic cacti, I have always been in admiration when looking at Epiphyllum x 'George's Favorite' which blooms non-stop all year round. For me, it's really the most repeat-blooming Epiphyllum in all.
N.B. I remember that a repeat-blooming plant is a plant which blooms and/or bears fruit at several periods of the year.
Epiphyllum x 'George's Favorite' (photo 1)
I was contemplating a bloom still on 2013 December
31st: >>>Next
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PHOTOS OF ALL MY HYBRID EPIPHYLLUM CLASSIFIED IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER
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