Hi: I inherited this plant from my husband's grandmother and can't figure out what it is. It is very unusual and I'd like to know exactly how to care for it so it'll bloom. Thank-you for your help!
your wonderful plant I believe your plant is a night blooming cereus. It's in the same family as the christmas cactus. It likes to be moist. I've heard that it prefers dappled (part shade) light. It's origin, like the christmas cactus, is as a plant that lives within the boughs of other trees, so if you can hang it, do it. If not you can always train it gently up a trellis if you have limited space. Now the bloom on this plant is, I believe, the largest of its kind or nearly so. It sports a white 10" bloom but only in the middle of the night! So if you ever get it to the point that you think it will bloom soon, by all means makes plans to stay up until 2 or 3 in the morning. I hear it is spectacular and well worth it. Really. But I have to be honest in that it might be some time before it blooms. I have a friend in the horticulture industry who lovingly maintains his succulents and has only been in position to see his bloom once in the 15 or 20 years he's had it. But don't be discouraged. It may be that you will find the knack of keeping it happy and will have far greater success with it. (And be up to see it.) Be patient. It's bloom when witnessed is purported to be gorgeous, amazing, maybe even a little rapturous. Possibly because it's so hard to witness and so unexpectedly beautiful. One thing is for certain, you will certainly appreciate it's bloom for what it is, something we get very blase about in most other plants. I hope you decide to take a chance with it, and that it thrives for you. Just so you know, your size cereus costs about $50. It's a real collector's plant. Hope this gave enough to go on, and good luck!
I agree that this looks like a night blooming cereus. I have several quite large ones and after they become rootbound they bloom nearly every summer. The blooms are beautiful and resemble an orchid. They do bloom at night but are still present early in the mornings. They will take root easily and can be rooted either at a leaf joint or even it a leaf breaks in half. I just let them heal and then stick about 1/4" into the soil and they root readily. I had no idea they were such an expensive plant. I have had mine for about 15 years and it has gotten quite large and have split it into several plants.
Randall Tapp Hi there, this is a great coincidence. I am actually on the net now trying to find out the name of the succulent that last night produced 6 of the most spectacular, fragrant flowers I have had the pleasure of cultivating. My mum went to a swap meet and brought me home what first appeared to be a big, ungainly, untidy looking plant. She told me to be patient and hang it under a tree and fingers crossed I may get a nice flower out of it. Well Im deff. doi9ng something right. A few days ago I happened to notice it had 6 large 6inch bulbs. I kept an eye on them and late yesterday arvo noticed that they were about to burst! Sure enough, late last night....bingo. Wow! Ive taken photos and will post them on this site if you like. Now I know what it is!! I have it ion a large bucket hanging from the limbs of a large tree. It only gets mottled light and lots of air. It has also shot up two large "spears" (4 foot long) which are now growing leaves from them too. I give it a light watering every couple of days (I live in Perth so summer is hot and dry). Anyway, good luck. Trust me, it is worth the wait for it to flower. I'll be ready with my video camera next year! Fingers crossed. Enjoy Randall
Ron B is exactly right. This is an epiphyllum oxypetalum. Unfortanately, there are quite a few common names floating out there creating a bit of confusion. Queen of the Night, Night Blooming Cereus, Dutchman's Pipe Organ, Gooseneck Cactus, Orchid Cactus and others. My philosophy-know the scientific name and pick your favorite common name. Actually using Cereus is inaccurate since it belongs to epiphyllum genera not Cereus. CactiGuide.com is a good source. They say this plant is in fact a "true" cactus not a succulent. It grows in the trees of Mexico and rain forest areas of South America. It is an epiphyte jungle cactus.
Hello! i knew if i dug around in the right place long enough i would find what i was looking for! i inherited this strange plant a few days ago. a friend moved into a new house with a greenhouse attached. although it's enormous in a four gallon bucket, this plant had been severely neglected, and now all of the leaves are yellow. i am not sure if it had too much sun, too much water, or too little water. i don't think too little sun in the greenhouse is an issue. i don't want it to die. it is now sitting in a 70 degree room, with east facing filtered light, and i have watered it sparsely. there's not a whole lot of care info on this plant on the net. my question is, what are the chances of this plant coming back to life once all of the leaves have gone quite yellow? will it grow back if the leaves do fall off? or will they repair themselves, as is my hope? i don't know what to do other than talk to it a whole heck of a lot. i surely appreciate help. thanks.
Re: your wonderful plant I have one of these, although it has never bloomed, I am now looking forward th seeing the flower in person. When I get one (or more) I WILL post the pics on this site. I'v had this plant for 4 years and have always been amazed at the weird way it grows. Thanks for your help on this.
Yes, this plant is a cereus (Hylocereus undatus), also known as dragon fruit in this part of the world. It is grown commercially in south east Asia for its edible fruits. I have had a plant growing in Melbourne for some 20 years where it has reached a height of some 9-10 feet. It prefers full sun and a north facing aspect. I have never lifted it from the pot - but I give it a good top-dressing of dynamic lifter each Winter. Ocassionally, it is pruned lightly to remove rampant tall canes. The plant has a peak blooming event usually around New year's Eve (our Summer) when 16-20 blooms appear on a single night. Following that it flowers sporadically, bearing up to 6 blooms per flowering episode every 4-6 weeks, continuing through until the end of April or until the first frost. Our climate is too far south for fruit to appear - but the plant is worth growing for the magnificent blooms - which are the size of dinner plates. And, to watch the flowers unfurl over several hours is spellbinding. They pulsate as they gradually open and every so often, they give themselves a little shake down as if it were dancing to some unheard tune. I truly have never seen anything quite so breathtaking. In spite of its straggly appearance, this plant is a joy to grow. It gives us so much pleasure and thrives on neglect.
Sorry, Miles. Bix Biederbeck would be very disappointed. The plant is plain old Epiphyllum oxypetalum. All Hylocereus have strictly three angled stems. All night blooming columnar and epiphytic Cactaceae have been called "Night blooming Cereus" by somebody somewhere. The common name is a traditional cop out for bothering to correctly ID the plant. The only Cactaceae with leaves are in the genus Pereskia. Epiphyllum have flattened 2 winged stems that mimic leaves in appearence and function. If one wants the stems to turn green again, fertilize with a low nitrogen (bulb or foliage) fertilizer diluted to half strength.
I have a Epiphyllum oxypetalum and was wondering how it would do if I potted some of the leaves and put it in my greenhouse. The greenhouse has diffused lighting, so no direct light. What do y'all think?
