The Garden At Rock Cottage by Lance Brilliantine

Night Wonder

As with orchids, many plants that produce magnificent blooms are less than awe-inspiring in appearance when not in bloom. This applies to most orchids and a number of other plants. One of the straggliest and plain plants in the world is also one that produces a spectacular bloom and one that visitors to Rock Cottage request I write about - Night-Blooming Cereus.

Many consider the plant itself a cult item and I frequently provide cuttings so that others can enjoy it. So unusual is the plant and so spectacular the blooms that many people throw parties to witness the opening of a single flower. The flowers themselves have been highly photographed.

The Night-Blooming Cereus produces one of the most fragrant, beautiful and fleeting flowers in the world. The plant flowers once (or maybe twice) a year, and is often overlooked in the wild since it blooms at night.

Generally the blooms occur in mid-August to early September. The flowers themselves are very large, pendulous and exquisitely scented. The flowers begin to open at dusk and die with the first morning light. So sensitive are the blooms that a flashlight will often cause them to move. The blooms themselves are an exquisite, trumpet-shaped and way flower that is creamy-white. Some say it looks like a down-turned artichoke - though more delicate. The fragrance is of vanilla-lemon and strong enough to attract the bats or moths that pollinate them in the wilds of Central and South America, as well as the Caribbean.

The plant itself is from a group of cacti that bloom at night and are part of the plant family Cactaceae Epiphyllum oxypetalum, the variety at Rock Cottage, is a shrubby, prostrate, somewhat cascading plant that can reach a height of about eight feet. The name "Epiphyllum" comes for the Greek word for "over the leaf" referencing the position of the flowers, and that the plant grows through the leaves of host trees. They are a highly evolved type of cactus.

Other species of the night-blooming cereus, some of which grow in the ground look more like a typical cactus. One variety, oxypetalum, is used frequently as a hedging plant in parts of Hawaii, where it blooms profusely (at night, of course). All species of the cereus are protected, so gathering of wild specimens is restricted.

Regardless of species, specialized bats and moths feed on the nectar of night-blooming cereuses and are the pollinators. Because these creatures are tropical, specimen plants grown in the Northeast never produce seeds.

Flowers emerge from virtually any location on the plant, even from the tips of existing leaves. The leaves may emerge as long runners that stand up by themselves. Over time the leaves may spread out, but they defy any set growth pattern. Leaves grow quickly and have a shiny, red-green color that changes to a lime-green. The leaves are smooth, long and flatten as they mature. Matured leaves look like the tail end of a sea snake. Leaves may also have spines or marginal indentations.

This plant is only suitable for container culture in the Northeast and must be grown in a partly sunny location. At Rock Cottage, specimens are placed at the back of the greenhouse where they receive partial sun. In summer, plants are moved outdoors with other tropicals in sunny locations around the pool (six-to-eight hours of direct sun daily is recommended). In these conditions the plants do very well and send forth multiple blooms each year.

The plant grows well in light, loamy garden soil. We fertilize once a year with a general purpose fertilizer as the plant sends out new leaves. The plant prefers to be intermittently dry and moist and is watered every week or so. Once or twice during summer, the soil is soaked sufficiently to ensure the runoff of any salts that accumulate in the pot.

This plant is easily propagated via cuttings. All that is required is to place the cutting into loamy soil and keep it moist for about a month until the cutting sets roots. New plants that are cultivated from cuttings typically bloom in the second or third season after potting.

There are always a few cuttings available at Rock Cottage, and we are willing to share. While the plant is not beautiful, it produces one of the most beautiful flowers in the world.

If you have questions or comments, you can contact Lance Brilliantine at GardenLance@yahoo.com.

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