on this little guy. Every time Dischidia ruscifolia blooms for me, and it’s easy to miss, it’s a reminder of how far we’ve come and what a struggle it was at first. When I finally started to treat epiphytes as, well, epiphytes, everything turned around. There’s this idea out there that you should treat epiphytes like succulents, and you shouldn’t.
He’s an epiphyte from the wet and tropical Philippines, so he didn’t evolve to live in cactus soil, or any soil really. I got rid of all the soil and the terra cotta, cleaned off the roots and moved him into a net pot with bark and a bit of sphagnum. I gave him good, really bright light and regular flow-through waterings, and he responded by growing. A lot. And blooming.
I really like the leaf shape, and the long, trailing vines have a graceful, light and airy feel. The blossoms are tiny, really tiny. You can almost miss them. The first time he bloomed I thought something was wrong until I looked very, very closely. Now the blooms remind me of how far we’ve come.
Liked him so much I looked for, and found, a variegated one. He had an easier time since I’d done the learning process on his brother. Now there’s two to keep an eye on.
I’ll keep you posted.
