Orchid Cactus?

[Orchid Kid]

I have what I think is an Deutsche kaiserin (Epiphyllum) or in English, A German Empress plant. I understand it to be a Cactus Orchid plant, but what do you think? can it be said to be an Orchid??

It's an amazing plant that has been so neglected in previous years, badly eaten away by mealy bug in places and having had black spot, but it soldiers on...!

Only a few more days now and it'll be in flower again, I'm so looking forward to this.

Pictures are from early Summer.





Edit: Removed thumbnail pics and replaced with full view pictures.

[estación seca]

Very beautiful. It is not an orchid. It is a cactus.

[WaterWitchin]

Gorgeous. It's sometimes called an orchid cactus, like the Thanksgiving or Christmas cactus you see around that season. But they are all Epiphyllum cacti, not orchids. However, they are ephiphytes, as are a lot of orchids. It's because of the gorgeous flowers. And fortunately a lot easier to grow than a lot of orchids are.

[vegetalmatter]

I love these. So elegant! They remind me of lotuses. How much light do you give them? Wondering if I can pull off growing these indoors as a houseplant

[Roberta]

I have seen small "Christmas cactus" plants that might work indoors in a very bright window. The Epiphyllum plants shown by the OP I doubt would work well as house plants, they need quite a bit of light... plus they can get rather large. You could probably grow them outside during the warmer months and just bring them in for the winter.

Another nice thing about Epiplyllums... they are very easy to propagate from cuttings. (Just whack off a piece of leaf, stick in a pot of soil, and it'll root) Trade with your friends for different colors.

[SouthPark]

Yes ...... they certainly do have lotus features ...... or lotus have these cactus flower features hehehe

[WaterWitchin]

Originally Posted by vegetalmatter

I love these. So elegant! They remind me of lotuses. How much light do you give them? Wondering if I can pull off growing these indoors as a houseplant

The smaller ones, absolutely. Hanging basket in a south window.

Don’t remind me of lotus at all... ???

---------- Post added at 04:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:44 PM ----------

Heck, you’re in Austin. You would only have a few months of having them inside! Go for it!!!

[SouthPark]

hehehe ...... water lily flower features at least ..... or vice versa (ie. water lily flowers have some of these cactus flower features/appearance). Very very beautiful indeed.

I haven't got a pink coloured one. I have 1 plant that produces the white flower ----- night blooming cereus (or what other names they come by). As we know ----- we have to be on our toes to see those flowers --- as they open up in the night and then wilted by around morning time. A time-lapse camera can help catch the action for times when we encounter flowering activity.

[Dollythehun]

Originally Posted by vegetalmatter

I love these. So elegant! They remind me of lotuses. How much light do you give them? Wondering if I can pull off growing these indoors as a houseplant

I have a pot of cuttings rooted, would you like it?
I got this from a dear friend. This plant stays relatively small. But it requires a cool period, I believe. ES could give you specifics. I grow it bright.

[estación seca]

I didn't want to hijack this thread so I posted one here about this, and other epiphytic cacti:


Epiphyllum hybrids, epiphytic cacti