Orchid Cactus – Disocactus ackermannii

This large red Disocactus ackermannii is one of the very first orchid cacti that we have. During the years I had planted few stems and these are from one of the cuttings that now has been mature and it is bearing many blooms. The mother plant had grown so big and last year the stems were damaged eaten by snails and slugs. I cut all the reasonably good stems (27 cuttings) and plant them. Most of these cuttings have grown new shoots, but they are still too young to flower.

The flowers seem very red if you look at them, but in the photos the inner petals have shimmering mauve tint. The throat is greenish in colour while the stigma and stamens are white. I have never seen this orchid cactus grow fruits.

It is always fun to take photos of the flowers as the results are always beautiful. Doing it at night is perfect to get dark background :). My camera cannot make very black background, so I have to edit these photos to achieve pitch dark colour. It may not be perfect, but they are good enough for an amateur like myself 🙂

Orchid cacti, jungle cacti or Epiphyllum have long and flat succulent leaves, and some people think they are not attractive. Unfortunately, it is true that these less interesting leaves that you will see almost all year around. Though the flowers are breathtakingly beautiful, they will not last long once they are open. Some only last for a day/night but many will last between two to three days before starting to wilt……..