Night Blooming Cereus

(November 2011)

I am hoping you can help identify a plant. It looks like a cactus She doesn’t know what it is called, but it is very hardy, takes very little water and has a large white bloom that appears August of each year (although my plant has never bloomed). If a leaf breaks, it can be inserted in damp soil and it will catch on and grow quickly; new stems/leaves appears to shoot out from an existing leaf? Hope you can help us identify this plant.

The plant is called a night blooming cereus. It is a cactus plant and can grow quite large. Once it gets old enough, flower buds are set in July/August time frame and open with gigantic blooms which are quite fragrant. The flowers open after the sun sets and close when the sun rises. I often think it is one of the ugly duckling plants, since it is not the most attractive plant, but when it blooms, it more than makes up for its appearance. It is not winter hardy but does well outside all summer.

(September 2009)

After having a night blooming cereus, Cereus peruvianus for 6 years, it bloomed for the first time about 5 weeks ago with several blooms following. At the moment, I've counted 21 blooms coming. Since it was a cutting from another plant, can you tell me what conditions make this plant bloom? I had absolutely nothing until this year, but it grows profusely. Last year it was re-potted as it had grown quite large. A friend I shared with now has a bloom coming on hers. Does this plant require more room to grow? Is shade or sunshine better? Is dryness or plenty of water better? Would appreciate anything you may tell me about this plant. The picture I took early one morning. By 10:00 the bloom was totally wilted.

ight blooming cereus is a member of the cactus family. It is truly the ugly duckling of the plant world. Once you have one, it can take over your house each winter with its tenacious gangly vine, but when it is in bloom, it is amazing . Move it outdoors and put it under a shade tree each spring, and by mid July through September you will start to see tiny buds produced along the edge of the leaf. Watch their progress daily and within one week the bud will be ready to open that night. Parties have been planned to mark this event. The flowers begin to open when it is truly dark, and produce a seven inch bloom which is gorgeous and fragrant. Once sunlight hits it, the flower is gone forever—each flower only lasts one day. The plant should produce ample buds to open for several weeks once it starts blooming. It usually takes two to three years to begin producing blooms, but when it does, they are spectacular. It is not winter hardy in Arkansas and needs relatively little care inside other than a sunny window and room to grow. Keep it on the dry side each winter, and move it outdoors under a shade tree in late spring. Fertilize monthly from May through July, but make sure you don’t overwater or it can rot.

All links to external sites open in a new window. You may return to the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture web site by closing this window when you are finished. We do not guarantee the accuracy of the information, or the accessibility for people with disabilities listed at any external site.

Links to commercial sites are provided for information and convenience only. Inclusion of sites does not imply University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture's approval of their product or service to the exclusion of others that may be similar, nor does it guarantee or warrant the standard of the products or service offered.

The mention of any commercial product in this web site does not imply its endorsement by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture over other products not named, nor does the omission imply that they are not satisfactory.