PlantFiles: Orchid Cactus, Strap Cactus
Disocactus ackermannii

I have had one for many years and can say it's one of the best orchid cacti to own out of the thousands out there. Easily hardy to a zone 9b. As far as leaf shape..sometimes they are like Hylocereus and chunky and sometimes flat like the typical Epi's -and you can have both shapes at the same time if a change in lighting happens. It does seem also to be influenced by how crowded the plant is in it's pot.Underplanted gives you the chunky Hylocereus parentage. A day bloomer.One thing i have been told is that the berries that form after flowering are sweet and edible,again the Hylocereus DNA. I never knew that and now that its blooming in late May,I will get back to you when i can taste them after they ripen...

I have had this plant Strap Cactus for more than ten years.

It usually blooms in July outside and I have also had it bloom indoors in late winter.

The plants buds from the long strap like leaves and then blooms late evening, lasting about three days.




grannieD mountains of Georgia

A hybrid of Epiphyllum and Heliocereus, this has a bright red fower over 3 inches long that stays open for several days.
Epiphyllums And Disocactus have "leaf-like" stems, but no leaves (foliage).
Propagation is from woody stem cuttings, not leaves since there are no leaves.
More synonyms of this plant are Epiphyllum ackermanni & Cactus ackermannii.

Actually, I find it quite daring to determine your plant as Disocactus ackermannii based on information on the internet. Especially, since the species has been used as parent to many "Epiphyllum" hybrids.

D. ackermannii is a day bloomer. It may still be true that the flowers tend to open in the afternoon or evening. But they will bloom for several days (usually 3). Species that are put in the Epiphyllum genus today are all night bloomers. Think "Queen of the Night" (not the Selenicereus, the "real" one, the E. oxypetalum; common names are not unique, unlike botanical names), Epiphyllum anguliger (Zigzag Cactus), Epiphyllum chrysocardium (Fern Cactus), etc.

In our family we have several old plants that might be the species Epiphyllum ackermannii. But I am not sure either, as I have not yet found a way to determine it safely. I guess, this may be almost impossible without the help of a specialist. And maybe even a specialist can't determine it safely without genetic evaluation, because there is an incredible number of hybrids.

Anyway: the plants are all very easy to grow and their flowers a highlight in every home (or in a garden: they love hanging in a tree during summer in Germany, though winters are, of course, too cold).

This rather plain-looking Epi has a wonderful red flower, worth the wait. It blooms at night like Epiphyllum Oxypetalum (Night Blooming Cereus, or Queen of the Night) but the bloom lasts longer. Foliage looks very much like Epi Oxypetallum but has small spines.

Update 2004: This bloomed in daylight this year. I'm still not certain I have it properly identified, though. However, it's the closest I could find on the Internet.