Night Blooming Cereus – Queen of the Night

The first bloom of the season opened tonight. I did set an alarm to remind me to look. It bloomed the last two summers. This year it has 9 more buds.

A friend shared a cutting with me a few years ago. She has grown a lot each year and has been repotted regularly. She spends the winters upstairs in a cooler bedroom and her summers on the front porch.

The plant is in a large pot. Gene and I repotted her when we moved her outside for the summer. The plant with the pot is about as tall as I am.

Night Blooming Cereus (Epiphyllum oxypetalum, Queen of the night, Orchid Cactus) Large pure white flowers, open as soon as the sun goes down and stay open all night, then close in the morning. This wondrous sight is also a heady experience because of the intoxicating fragrance. It blooms in waves during the summer months, with sometimes as many as 15 flowers open at once. Nature’s ability to manifest such a magnificent creation leaves us in awe of this wonderful epiphyllum. As for all members of the Orchid Cactus family, a period of dryness and cool nighttime temperatures in the winter ensures summer bloom.