The orchid cactus' fleeting fancies

Today, gardeners try to mimic the jungle environment. Pampered hybrids nest in hanging baskets rather than in trees. Well-draining soil and fertilizer have replaced the jungle's decomposing leaves and bird droppings. Galen Pittman, the society's current president, says the plants can be grown in the ground but fare better in pots because of their vulnerability to nematodes in the soil as well as snails and slugs. Plants started from cuttings usually bloom in two or three years.

The hybrids are made up of a number of species, only one being epiphyllum. "The present name epiphyllum is a misnomer," Kohlschreiber says, "because most of the hybrids sold today are not epiphyllum. The name has persisted so long that nothing is going to change it." He calls his plants "epicactus," the preferred name coined by an English botanist. Pittman uses the more descriptive "hybrid epiphytic cactus." Others just use "epi."

Then there's the common name, "orchid cactus." The plants have nothing in common with orchids except for gorgeous flowers, but were likely given the name because many orchids are epiphytes and live on tree branches.

Epiphytic cactuses can still be found in shady areas of lowland jungle and misty cloud forests in Mexico, Central America and parts of South America. Most are fragrant night bloomers. The challenge to plant-hunters in the early 1800s was to find day bloomers, fragrant or not.

Hybridizers continue to crossbreed flowers, always hunting for new forms, colors, staying power and fragrance. Still, they've only managed to find a few that will fill a garden with fragrance during the day.

Evelyn Shiraki, a Los Angeles hybridizer who has registered 20 hybrids, suggests Epiphyllum 'Evening Delight' as her choice for the most fragrant day bloomer. E. 'William Clark' is another, according to Pittman. Many of the smaller flowers give off a scent during the day, he adds.

Society members agree that once an epiphyllum changes hands, whether it's a cutting from a friend or a collection inherited from the family, there's a good chance that the new owner will be hooked. But there are those who are not seduced by the ravishing flowers.

Pittman says, "There is a disdain among many cactus growers that epiphytic cactus are somehow less [worthy], possibly because we don't grow our plants for their form, while their thing is the shape and color of the plant and how it looks in the pot."