O/t I save the Queen for last ! Hang on for this is a Treat

Night Blooming Cerus ~
Queen of the night ~
There is nothing like this plant/flowers
The sweet smell ~
Takes two large hands open to hold this large flowers.
She bloomed the past couple nights and I stayed away for one. Last year she bloomed over 12 times and even on Christmas night !
Edit to say she did not bloom 12 flowers but over 12 times. But the most flowers we have got at one time was 5. But I'm always making new plants and taking cuttings and you never know where the flowers will come out. I've had brand new cuttings/plant bloom !

This message was edited May 31, 2006 6:35 AM

She is the Queen of the Night ~

I have never seen another plant like this ~
Light was hard to capture her beauty even with deck light and flash so a flower had to come in for a few shots then Hubby took it right out.

What a beauty, Allison! Another one for my wish list...LOL

She takes a long time to form this flower. A tiny looking carrot like pencil top size bud starts to form it's orange and rubbery looking. And it forms this long cool rubbery arm and at the end a large orangy rubber like bud forms. And when it opens the smell and the size, beauty detailed flowers are nothing like you have ecer experienced before.

Well I can send you cuttings and she roots real easy ! My plant has been in our family about 125. It was my Great Grandmother's who I never met.
A couple years ago my 86 year old Aunt gave me a small cutting in a 4 inch pot. I never dreamed this plant would be such a fascinating trasure ! I have grown many plants for people and shared zillions of cuttings !

We even have a plant growing in the ground now in our morning sun/shade garden ..
Saw one on the News last year that had 76 flowers at one time and zillions of more buds

You know I took a zillion pictures of her !
Each flower that takes so long ~
Only last " ONE " night.

Good Night Night Blooming Cerus ~
Queen of the night ~ Until next Treat time of more of your flowers .

Hi Allison,

Oh I have always wanted this one too.....she sure is a beauty! How big is that flower? It looks HUGE! What does it smell like?

You sure can't beat nature for beauty can we?

Thanks for sharing it!

Joanne

Wow! This has got to be one of the most beautiful flowers that I have ever seen. She is absolutely stunning. And she has been around for 125 years? That is truly amazing. I can see why she is called Queen of the Night. And I agree with you Joanne, we sure can't beat nature for beauty.

Thanks so much for sharing.

Jesse

Very beautiful. Does the blossom close during the day? What does it look like when it is closed? How long does the blossom last? Questions, questions, questions. I've never seen anything like it.

It blooms one night that's it. For a treasure that takes so long to form it really is the most facinating flower ever. She is number one plant in out plant file too !
Joanne she smells like the sweetest Vanilla ! I can send you cuttings ! She roots real fast and easy.
She can be grown any where inside, outside ...will take to 40 degrees easy even colder short period of time. We take in to screen room and cover if going to have a freeze. She grew up in the New England States. Mass. You figure my GrandMother died about 1981 in her late 80's and the plant was her Mom's I never met. Mine is pretty large and it was a small cutting in a 4 inch pot when my 86 year old Aunt gave it to us. Never did I really know what she was giving me such a treasure. Mine bloomed the first year. Grows well in shade but will tolorate hot sun but color won't do as well. Hubby brings it up on the porch so I can get pictures. Other than this it lives in our morning sun/shade garden. I ven had him put a piece in the ground it is doing great ! It will scamper along your floor, or great in a hanging basket. Likes to be root bound. Mine like everything else I grow is in the same soil-less mix as Av's. This one has not been trans-planted for about a year and we will keep it in this pot as it will bloom more root bound. I have never seen it botherd by pest. I don't think you can kill it.
Oh yes the flower is large big big ! take two big hands upside down cupped open to hold this large flower. It's not a flat flower it 's wide and deep one flower bigger than a good size Av plant.
Like our night blooming Jasmine, 4 O'clocks, Moon flowers all open at night. She is the Queen of the night bloomers. Still about 9 am she was full and pretty Hubby brought her across the street to show our neighbors . We gave them a small plant in a 6 inch pot last fall. Their plant is very large now but has not bloomed. We wanted them to see what a treat their in store for. They love different exotic plants. Check her out in Plant files. I posted a picture last year but think I will do another !

Still hoping for a cutting of this beauty... ok, I'll admit it, I'm shamelessly begging here! =)

Such a beauty! You know that Sawtooth epi is a 'relative' too. (did I ever give you the correct name of it? Rhipsalis houlletiana)

Mine is dangling above my desk and is about two and a half feel long now. Kell bought me a beauty at FILOLI gardens a few weeks ago and it's about to pop out with blooms.

I went to the Epi show yesterday in SFO and I'll try and post some photos today, if time allows. I want to play in my garden today, but my fingers on my right hand are recovering from a stupid act I did last night. I went to move a sprinkler (a new one) and so I walked up to it (while it was furiously twirling and spraying water, just like sprinklers are supposed to do) and grabbed it to stop it from twirling so I could drag it across the lawn and it was going so fast and furious (and much heavier metal than my old broken one that it replaced) and when I reached down, it tore my finger nail off down to the quick and bruised my thumb and index finger. My middle finger is black and blue and was all covered in blood, and the nail half on half off. so I'm typing using my good fingers... (one of my brighter gardening moments!! LOL.) So I if I can, I'll post them. It was a stunning show. Oh and I forgot to say, the reason I was there was to attend the AGGS gesneriad show and sale next door. Photos of that coming soon.

Brought home some cool chirita, kohleria, petrocosmea leaves and some other weird gessies too!

I'm sorry that you hurt your hand. That sounds painful. I hope that it gets better soon.

Jesse

Great photos Allison! Very pretty.

Lalli- poor thing! ouch- don't you love those brilliant moments! I have so many of them- one day I fell into the water meter hole, the guys in the trash truck asked me if I was ok, AFTER they stopped laughing! Today, after I finished mowing the lawn I could swear that I felt something crawling and itchy under my waistband and then across my lower abdomen but no, it had to be just sweat- after all the humidity here was oh I don't know 95% maybe and it was so dang hot, like 90 something? so I ignored it and kept working in the yard- watered a few things and felt an itchy crawly sensation on the back of my thigh and when I touched my jeans back there oh my god there WAS something there! so I started doing the "OOOOHHHH get out of my pants!!!!!" dance- thank god I was in the back in the yard!!!! and finally out of my pant leg, onto the grass fell this stupid beetle thing maybe 1 1/2 or 2 inches long, brown w/ black head- I see them at the foundation of the house when I am flooding those beds, but I hadn't been near there so have no idea how the dang thing got in my pants and if I hadn't been so freaked out it would have been funny. It's a little funnier now.

I know it's not as painful as your accident, but thought you could use some comic relief.

Wow Allison! That is stunning :)
I have a few cuttings down of orchid cactus :) Hopefully some day they will look half as nice as that :)

Oh my goodness! I almost fell out of my chair laughing with the visual of you doing the 'bug in my pants' dance!
i just stubbed my sore finger again while dishing up the dog food. I almost dropped the fork and while trying to be cool and catch it, I rammed my already swollen and bulbous looking finger on the edge of the counter. Litterally dropped to my knees half laughing and half crying in pain. isn't that always the way! Talk about Murphy's law!

typing one and a half handed tonight!

Thanks guys for the laugh, and well wishes for my finger boo boo!

Thanks Lorry. Where did you get your cuttings of Orchid Catus ? Does this one open during the day ?
Do you know what color ? There ar pages of plants but no pictures of many in Plant Files.
his one is very pretty http://davesgarden.com/pf/showimage/106972/
I don't know if there all as large as The Queen of the Night.. Her flowers are so large !
Lauri what are you doing up so late ! So sorry about you fingers/hand :( Did you go to the Hospital ? Pain pills thrubing pills ? Oh my. Be careful you could have lost a finger or hand.
Oh my I wish you had taking cuttings yourself when you were here and put them in your suitcase. lol :))
I am going to try to get all paid shipping boxes out and will get a box out to you then ! Yesterday I could not pack I was going to rest some after watering and trans-planting in the morning . I needed the rest bad so I could pack later when the best friend of the neighbor that died this week ( who was at her home taking care of her ) came over LONGGGG story. But she had to be here for hours another longgg sad story. By then it was to late to pack and me I was too worn out.
So I'm going to start early today resting in between !

Allison, I gave my grandmother four Zygo cactus plants, I think that's the Christmas cactus. They bloom orange, pink, white, and purple. I don't know which is which now, but I can get some cuttings for you the next time I'm down there, if you'd like.

Lali, I'm so sorry to hear about your finger. I'm always doing something to hurt myself, and it makes me so mad, because I should know better.

April, I couldn't help laughing at your story! I panic when there's a bug on me, so I can totally relate! LOL

Amy I have several Chirstmas Cactus. I call them Holiday as they bloom for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Chritsmas, New Years, Easter :)) I did not know that was the same one ? There are like 58 pages of them in Plant Files named no pictures :(( Thanks though ...

These are the ones I gave her. http://davesgarden.com/pf/go/1510/index.html Very pretty, but she can see the blooms on those pretty well, so I let her have them as her project plants. She's working with them so she can have them bloom again at Christmas. :o)

Yes those are we we have. I think we may have about 5 now. I forget all the colors. I use to have some good pictures but it was before I had them digital. They are so pretty. Flowers small but pretty !

The flowers on mine were a couple inches long, I guess. Nothing like Queen of the Night, though! LOL

She is so beautiful. I can't wait for mine to start blooming. :o)

Mine are still rotted cuttings and working on grwoning..but believe it or not the cuttings have bloomed and yup it was during the day. I have white, red and pink ones rooting now :)
I know Bob Smoley sells cuttings but the ones I have I got in a trade :) I plan on buying some of the other colors from him also :) they are just too pretty :)

Anna which one do you have ?
Lorry I have had cutting bloom many times so cool.

It is cool :)