Sunday, July 20, 2008

ONE BLOOMING Night/(Epiphyllum oxypetalum)

Three blooms all in one night this year! Always a JOY to see this plant put forth blooms. My plant is 20 years old…and I never tire of the beauty it gives only once a year.
Yup that is a Cicada in the first shot, actually it is the shell. That time of year as well! Night-blooming cereus also spelled sirius, also called Queen of the night or Reina de la noche, are names of several genera and species of nightblooming cactus, ~~~~~~~~ This plant is grown as a houseplant, but prefers a trip outdoors for the summer months. Place the container under a shade tree where it gets filtered light, but not direct sunlight in the afternoon. With a flower so showy, you may think it is difficult to grow, but the opposite is true. It basically takes care of itself. The only thing that would be a problem would be waterlogged soils. It prefers a well-drained soil with organic matter added -- a half-and-half mixture of sand and commercial potting soil should do. The sandy mix is preferred, since this is a cactus. Feed it monthly during spring and summer with any water soluble. You don't want to miss the flowering display, because each bloom only lasts for that one night. By sunrise the flower is spent. I have cut a bloom and put it in a vase of water in the refrigerator where it did last for an extra day, minus the fragrance, but it made viewing somewhat constrictive -- you had to have your head in the icebox to see it!
If you can find someone with a plant, ask for a cutting. They root extremely easily. Take a section of stem roughly two to four inches in length, put it a sandy potting soil, and moisten it. It should be rooted with three to six weeks. It will usually take two to three years before you have a plant that begins blooming, but then stand back and enjoy. Some people find that their plants bloom every year, once blooming begins, while others have an alternate blooming cycle.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Beauitful flower..
What an experience to watch the blossom unfold.

Thank you foryour visit.

Where flowers bloom so does hope.
- Lady Bird Johnson, Public Roads: Where Flowers Bloom

-Cheers.

dot said...

What an unusual plant and a real beauty too!

Willard said...

Dee, that is a beautiful flower. I didn't know about it before you posted, so thanks for the information!

Tene Murray said...

Absolutely breathtaking! And I loved the time-lapsed video as well...

Julie said...

What a fantastic flower. My late husband (not Stewart)used to collect cacti and succulents and had a plant very similar to this ( may well have been this one) The flower was the size of a dinner plate. Beautiful. I should have a photo somewhere.

Tom said...

What a beautiful flower Dee.
Never heard of or seen these beauties before.

Unknown said...

That is a great flower. What is a cicada?

DeeMom said...

For the People I will post soon about the cicada

Thanks to you all for the kind comments