{"id":3408,"date":"2011-08-07T10:15:56","date_gmt":"2011-08-07T14:15:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bodynsoil.com\/blog\/?p=3408"},"modified":"2023-06-07T15:17:50","modified_gmt":"2023-06-07T19:17:50","slug":"opening-soon-night-blooming-cereus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bodynsoil.com\/blog\/2011\/08\/opening-soon-night-blooming-cereus\/","title":{"rendered":"Opening Soon: Night Blooming Cereus"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Opening Soon: Night Blooming Cereus<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I was gifted a night blooming cereus, I carried this rather gangly looking plant into our home. My husband dropped a few “ugly ducking” comments but I assured him that, soon, hugely scented blooms would open making everything worth the effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UPDATE: Below, you’ll find our time-lapse photo series of the event. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Setting up the time-lapse brought about questioning comments from dearest hubby; again I say… TRUST ME..  (while inside I’m hoping for success)<\/address>\n\n\n\n

Plant Care<\/strong>: I quickly researched the care and needs of the Cereus<\/a> (Wiki) to see what I might be getting myself into. Overall it is an “easy care plant<\/em>” as you water reasonably during the growth periods; then sparingly, if at all, in the winter, feed in spring. There are multiple varieties of plants,called Night Blooming Cereus; commonly found in warmer climates.  A good source of information, with bud progression photos, that identified my variety was: Hylocereus undatus <\/a>(worley.com). As a houseplant, the Night Blooming Cereus isn’t a beautiful plant, overall, if you put up with its rather odd-looking growth you would be rewarded with beautiful bloom, once or twice a year, location depending. Propagation of the plant is very easy as there are roots ready and waiting to touch soil on each bracket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Night Blooming Cereus First Bud<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The University of Arkansas<\/a> has excellent information regarding the Night Blooming Cereus and reports the following when describing the actual bloom process: “The buds increase dramatically in size. The day of blooming, the bud will begin to open about 9 or 10 pm, and be wide open by midnight. When they’re ready to open, they do so in dramatic fashion, literally before your eyes — you can see the movement. We once did time-lapse photography for a show, and it was amazing to all of us present. The size and shape of the blooms is outstanding enough on its own, but the fragrance can scent an entire room<\/em>.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n