For two nights the glorious night blooming cereus (Queen of the Night) has been flowering. Four flowers the first and two last night. This succulent stemmed plant produces flowers in scant numbers and for only a few nights a year. I have three plants, potentially three that are not the same, as I have collected them from anyone and place that assures me they are different. My traditional species flowered last night, opening around 11:00 PM and closing in the wee hours of the morning. On the previous night there were flowers on a cultivar named 'Mark Twain', but it was pouring rain, so I gave up on my late night visit and comparison. The opportunity to see them side by side may have to wait a year.
This tropical plant is Epiphyllum oxypetalum, found from Mexico to Brazil. The flowers can be 9" across, with a light fragrance of lemon. So anticipated are the flowers that gardeners often have night blooming cereus parties. At various times in my life I have grown them, in fact the night I was married, a plant traveled with me on my honeymoon, a sure sign that I was a plant fanatic. These are the things one has to prioritize, it's a rare event.
Love your plant passion.
Posted by: Mona Miller | 07/30/2016 at 01:28 PM
Very cool! What a stunning bloom. I didn't take a plant on my honeymoon but I wish I had just for the sake of causing confusion since I hadn't started gardening yet.
Posted by: Casa Mariposa | 07/30/2016 at 07:21 PM
Ah, but Tammy, if that honeymoon was today, there might be a plant in tow.
Posted by: karen@windyhill.net | 07/30/2016 at 08:47 PM
Stunning!!
Posted by: Gina Cochran | 07/31/2016 at 07:21 PM
Few things rival this in the plant world, thank-you Gina.
Posted by: karen@windyhill.net | 08/01/2016 at 06:30 AM