I brought this plant back in 1990, at that
time it was huge, it completely filled an twelve inch basket with its canes. I got it from a plant vendor that had been
growing the plant for years without it producing a single flower. Although the plant was large, the vendor gave
it to me very cheap. The vendor was
happy to clear bench space for more profitable plants and I was happy to have a
plant to experiment what conditions would make it bloom.
In December, I took the plant with me to
the place I lived at the time, at an altitude of of 3500 feet, in the Sierra de
Luquillo, in the eastern part of the island of Puerto Rico. The local temperature in winter can go down
into the upper fifties and the local humidity is very high often in the
nineties. I put it in a place where it
would get morning sunlight but would not get rained on. Then I didn’t water it for two months. Because of the high humidity the canes didn’t
get very shriveled and wrinkly. In March of that year I started watering it
sparingly, in April I started watering it normally but didn’t give it any
fertilizer.
In May of that year the plant was covered
with buds. When it bloomed, it produced
150 large, fragrant flowers. It was
quite a spectacle. When the plant
finished blooming I took it out of the basket and divided it in many
pieces. I gave away several the pieces, potted some,
put some in baskets and tied a piece to the trunk of an avocado tree.
The plant in the avocado tree grew
slowly. Mainly because I left it
completely alone, no watering or fertilizer.
It has been in the tree now for three decades. At first it was in deep shade, and it would
not bloom even when the canes were fully adult sized. Then part of the tree was cut down and the
plant suffered sunburn, it bloomed weakly.
Now that it gets full sun in the morning and dappled sunlight the rest
of the day it is blooming better than ever.
The canes are the largest it has ever produced, some are two and a half
feet long.
The flowers are fewer and larger than the
plants that are potted and get watered and fertilized. The color of the flowers is variable. I have observed that the plants that are in
full sun have flowers with more intense color.
This plant has a very wide temperature
tolerance and can even endure temperatures close to freezing without harm. From my experience, I can attest that it is
a good plant to naturalize on trees on those areas that are not subject to
freezing weather. Although I have some
plants on pots and on baskets, none is as large or as healthy as the plant
naturalized on the tree. This is mainly because
they must be repotted from time to time and this means they lose some of their
root ball. The naturalized plant has a
massive number of roots that cover the trunk for a few feet around it in all
directions.
However, this plant might not bloom even
with the best of care, this can be caused by a number of reasons. First, if grown in a spot that is too shady
the plant will not bloom, it will produce long and spindly weak canes. If given fertilizer at a time when it is
finishing its growing and getting ready for the dry season this will stimulate
it to start new growths and can short circuit the blooming season. If watered at the time when it is normally
the dry season in its habitat, this also can inhibit blooming. Some plants can bloom in the shade, even if
fertilized and watered, but often they produce just a few flowers near the tip
of the canes. Low temperatures stimulate
blooming in this species. The plant
canes can lose their leaves during the dry season, this is normal and a prelude
to blooming. I should add that I have
seen fully leafed canes blooming. But generally,
it has been my experience that plants that keep their leaves bloom less
abundantly than those that become deciduous.
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