MQ • 17

Epiphyllum hybrids: the cultivation of mother-in-law tongues

In a hot August 1991 a well-known nurseryman came to see me, with whom I had reached an agreement: I gave him 500 specimens of Lithops as well as a few dozen Epithelantha and Blossfeldia, receiving in exchange 70 plants of Epiphyllum in pots, in addition to about 1000 cuttings of the same: basically his entire collection, which he was no longer interested in.
A passion for these cacti with such striking blooms was born in me. The same passion that accompanied me in 1992 during a trip to the United States, where I met the Epiphyllum Society of America, which I aspired to represent in Italy and the famous company Rainbow Garden Bookshop, where I was able to find numerous cultivars never seen in Europe.
After a few years, fate would have it that I could no longer keep this collection, so I donated it to the Exotic Gardens of Monaco. The director of the gardens asked me for the favor of producing an article in which to outline the growing needs of these plants, which was published in the magazine of the French association of succulent friends in 1999.
Published in Succulentes ns. 2, 3, 4. in 1999.

Read or download the article in PDF format