Last updated on October 23rd, 2023 at 09:03 pm
With its beautiful flowers, the leaf cactus or epiphyllum is a real eye-catcher in any living room. When the bloom fails to appear, it is a great disappointment. What is the reason that Epiphyllum does not bloom and how can it be prevented?
Causes why epiphyllum does not bloom
plant too young
no winter break
too humid wintering
too little nutrients
Epiphyllum is still too young
One reason the Epiphyllum does not bloom is the age of the plant. Many years pass before the leaf cactus develops its first flowers. It takes five years and sometimes even longer for the first flowers to appear. So in this case it is not due to improper care.
Epiphyllum needs a winter break
If you do not give the Epiphyllum a winter break, you will wait in vain for flowers. While the leaf cactus likes it very warm in the summer, in the winter it needs to be placed in a cooler place. Only then can it develop flowers.
In winter, place the epiphyllum in a bright place at temperatures between 10 and 15 degrees.
Too moist substrate in winter
Another reason for lack of flowers may be that you have kept the epiphyllum too moist during the winter break.
During the wintering period, you should water Epiphyllum very sparingly – the pot ball should just not dry out completely. Even though the plant appreciates high humidity, you must not spray it with water during the winter.
Epiphyllum does not bloom due to lack of nutrients.
The leaf cactus is a frugal plant that gets by with few nutrients. However, it does not work completely without fertilizer, especially if the epiphyllum has always grown in the same substrate for several years.
Pot it in fresh substrate in the spring, but do not fertilize it for a long time after that.
Never use cactus fertilizer for foliage cacti, but provide epiphyllum with normal houseplant fertilizer. It should contain little nitrogen. To avoid overfertilization, reduce the dose indicated on the package by half.
Tips
Epiphyllum is easy to propagate yourself. You can grow new leaf cacti from seed or you can cut cuttings. Propagation by cuttings is much easier.