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irish_rose_grower

can i grow and overwinter epiphyllum in zone 6/7?

irish_rose_grower
13 years ago

HI, i was wondering if these can successfully be grown in zone 6/7 here in NY?

Epiphyllum Oxypetalum

Epiphyllum Pumilum

Lychee

I overwinter my plumeria, bananas and night blooming jasmine. I was wondering if I can do the same with these?

I wonder how they would do indoors in a sunny window?

Are they suseptible to spider mites?

p.s. I know nothing about these plants so pls offer info:-)

thanks

Comments (4)

  • karyn1
    13 years ago

    Epi's are easy to winter over inside. Just make sure they don't get too much water. The lychee tree will be a bit more difficult. You need more humidity and light. I winter most of my tropicals over in a greenhouse and also use HID grow light systems. The lychee will likely drop foliage when moved indoors. As long as it's kept alive thru the winter it will rebound when it's moved back outside next spring.

    The only bug issues I've ever had with epi's is scale and it's pretty easy to remove by hand. The lychee is susecptible to more sucking insects, especially spider mites. Keeping the humidity up will help discourage them.

  • subtropix
    13 years ago

    No problem with your orchid cacti (Epiphyllum sp.)--they're actually easy. On the drier side in winter but they are jungle cacti so humidity is not unappreciated. Good luck!:)

  • trianglejohn
    13 years ago

    My epi's bloom better in the spring/summer if they have a cool dry winter, but they grow better if it is warm and moist. Another thing I've noticed is that out of all of my epiphyllum's (10) the plants that look the worst, bloom the best.

    I'm growing lychee from seeds and last winter was their first time dealing with cold temps and they came through just fine in a cool hoophouse. It even froze a few nights and they didn't seem to mind. I've heard that they fruit better if allowed to cool down for at least a month in the winter (cool but not frozen).

  • tropicalzone7
    13 years ago

    They seem to be very hardy plants and can handle lots of neglect (cool temperatures, hot temperatures, moist conditions, and dry conditions). But I dont think any can handle long freezes so bring them indoors when a frost is predicted. They should do well by a window and maybe even flower if its old enough! I think they really prefer to be outside so as soon as the warm weather returns in the spring, take it back out and watch it grow!

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