---
title: "My oldest plant is an Epiphyllum Oxypetalum cactus. The mother plant…"
description: "My oldest plant is an Epiphyllum Oxypetalum cactus. The mother plant belonged to my great grandmother and would be over 150 years old today. I have no idea who…"
url: "https://getplanta.com/community/lZ7uAE3pQ86jnFGxrCwLrg/y6OJAf2jTcW5PshZiERomg?language=it"
community: "Anything about plants"
author: "Sunny"
published: "2024-05-01T21:20:36.410527Z"
language: "en"
image: "https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/wefqOljjhEOiS9LRzOB1-QhxkVJiB4A5DGumXhnNrhs/-ydJcXo8Tk-hBxTAY47zbA.webp?size=large"
---

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# My oldest plant is an Epiphyllum Oxypetalum cactus. The mother plant…

_Pubblicato da Sunny il 2024-05-01_

My oldest plant is an Epiphyllum Oxypetalum cactus. The mother plant belonged to my great grandmother and would be over 150 years old today. I have no idea who has the original plant. Parts of that plant has been clipped, given away and propagated over many years. I got a palm size leaf in the 80s. I initially grew it in soil. I mostly grew it in a large spaghetti jar of water for years when I couldn’t care for plants due to extensive business travel. I put it permanently into a tiny bit of soil in a heavy glazed clay pot over 15 years ago. I add a little cow manure every few years.

The plant is about 6 feet tall. High winds knocked over my large plants including two Epiphyllum Oxypetalums and my monstera. It broke the pot. But, this exposed the roots. This shows 15 year root growth of an epiphyte plant which is almost nothing! It is not even root bound!Epiphytes like orchids don’t heavily rely on putting roots in soil. So, they don’t grow a lot of roots.

![Allegato 1 di 5](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/wefqOljjhEOiS9LRzOB1-QhxkVJiB4A5DGumXhnNrhs/-ydJcXo8Tk-hBxTAY47zbA.webp?size=large)

![Allegato 2 di 5](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/wefqOljjhEOiS9LRzOB1-QhxkVJiB4A5DGumXhnNrhs/32m5d3h9QE2k_SkfFQPXPg.webp?size=large)

![Allegato 3 di 5](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/wefqOljjhEOiS9LRzOB1-QhxkVJiB4A5DGumXhnNrhs/E9W0slLjQv-qVOyECkHDFQ.webp?size=large)

![Allegato 4 di 5](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/wefqOljjhEOiS9LRzOB1-QhxkVJiB4A5DGumXhnNrhs/Mwjq0QftSiugX48zhSrgpw.webp?size=large)

![Allegato 5 di 5](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/wefqOljjhEOiS9LRzOB1-QhxkVJiB4A5DGumXhnNrhs/s8MuTrCKQJCq1hm5UmVUkw.webp?size=large)

## 4 commenti

### Sunny ha commentato il 2024-05-01

They often bloom very large flowers at night. They can go weeks living off stored water. You can go on a long vacation and not worry about them dying.

They prefer regular watering after drying out. They like higher levels of humidity unlike desert cactus. Overwatering or using soil with slow drainage are the fastest ways to kill it.

![Allegato 1 di 1](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/wefqOljjhEOiS9LRzOB1-QhxkVJiB4A5DGumXhnNrhs/ILK2zx1nTcyloYT2HBcPsw.webp?size=large)

#### Sunny ha risposto il 2024-05-01

![Allegato 1 di 1](https://images.getplanta.com/v1/resize/wefqOljjhEOiS9LRzOB1-QhxkVJiB4A5DGumXhnNrhs/26BURS_tQuygNnhtTUkDTQ.webp?size=large)

### Mossy-paws ha commentato il 2024-05-02

Wow!!

### Succulent❤️Mama ha commentato il 2024-05-02

That’s amazing! Thank you for sharing!❤️

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