With its beautiful flowers, the leaf cactus or epiphyllum is a real eye-catcher in every living room. If flowering fails, it is a big disappointment. Why is Epiphyllum not blooming and how can this be prevented?
Why isn't my Epiphyllum blooming?
An epiphyllum will not bloom if the plant is too young, has not had a winter break, was kept too moist during the winter or suffers from a nutrient deficiency. Provide sufficient rest time, appropriate overwintering and balanced fertilization to make the leaf cactus bloom.
Causes why Epiphyllum does not bloom
- Plant too young
- no winter break
- wintering too wet
- too few nutrients
Epiphyllum is still too young
One reason that Epiphyllum does not bloom is the age of the plant. It takes many years for the leaf cactus to develop its first flowers. It takes five years and sometimes even longer for the first flowers to appear. In this case it is not due to incorrect care.
Epiphyllum needs a winter break
If you don't give the Epiphyllum a winter break, you'll wait in vain for flowers. While the leaf cactus likes to be very warm in the summer, it needs to be kept cooler in the winter. Only then can it develop flowers.
Place the Epiphyllum in a bright place in winter with temperatures between 10 and 15 degrees.
Substratum too moist in winter
Another reason for no flowers can be that you kept the epiphyllum too moist during the winter break.
During the winter, you should only water Epiphyllum very sparingly - the pot ball should not dry out completely. Even if the plant appreciates high humidity, you should not spray it with water in winter.
Epiphyllum does not bloom due to lack of nutrients
The leaf cactus is a frugal plant that requires few nutrients. However, it is not possible without fertilizer, especially if the epiphyllum has been growing in the same substrate for several years.
Pot it in fresh substrate in spring, but do not fertilize it for a long time afterwards.
Never use cactus fertilizer for leafy cacti, but provide Epiphyllum with normal houseplant fertilizer (€7.00 on Amazon). It should contain little nitrogen. To avoid over-fertilization, reduce the dose indicated on the packaging by half.
Tip
Epiphyllum is easy to propagate yourself. You can grow new leafy cacti from seeds or you can take cuttings. Propagation via cuttings is much easier.
