I was looking at my night blooming cereus last night and I think I see flowers forming! I have had this plant for 4 years and this is the first time it will flower! I am so excited . here is a pictur of what I think is a few buds what do you think?
laura
heres another shot
I think you are right, good luck, remember they open late at night, mine always opened after 11pm way to late for this lady.
Yep, looks like you've got buds! I know it will be exciting staying up to see those blooms! I have a huge Epi hookeri that is a night bloomer. It is in a large pot out in the corner of the backyard under the trees and it had four or five blooms this past week and I missed them again because it blooms at night! I keep saying I'm going to remember to take the flashlight out some night to see the flowers and always forget! Then, I notice the droopy spent blooms the next day!
I have a small basket of the Epi oxypetalum but it hasn't bloomed yet. I sure look forward to seeing those flowers!
Laura, I hope you will be able to get pic's of your blooms to post here!
I hope I can pick the right night to stay up! Is it true that when they are getting ready to open they turn upward ? and if so how long before they are ready to open? I want to invite my best friend phyllis over to see > If I catch the show I will absolutely post pics here
laura
Laura, look at this cuttings from a year 1/2 and blooms this season, just like you, waiting!!!! Clemen
They look about the same size! wouldn't it be a hoot if they flowered at the same time! we could have a net party!
I am impressed that it is a new cutting mine took years !
laura
Laura, my friend gave the cuttings late winter 2007. She told me that it would take at least 2 years to bloom. I know I planted the cuttings with cacti soil and in the summer (2007) let her out in a bright location. I kept fertilizing her all summer and she kept growing. WInter wise 2007-2008, she stayed in a cool room, sunny widow, and she still grew some more. I have not since growth this summer until i saw those beautiful tiny buds!!
I will continue to show you my progress over here and I do hope that yours and mine bloom at the same time, it will bring us good fortune! LOL, Clemen
Laura. I'm starting my second flush. I still love seeing the blooms open. My grandson and I stay up sometime until 1 a.m. waiting for full opening. The smell, ooooh the smell. Just love it. You're going to really enjoy the event. Whatever you do, don't miss it. Dorothy
Ok Laura, we need an update on yours, here is mine today, a little blury but hey an update. It's been 2 1/2 weeks since I saw a little growth and counting the days, lol
Dorothy, please post yours!
Clemen
here is my buds this morning , We have had some very wet, cool weather lately I think when the sun comes out they will catch up
: )
laura
Laura, it looks like mine might be only a couple of days ahead of yours! How much longer though, now I am impatient! Clemen
Here's my flower bud on my poor misstreated parent epiphyllum oxypetalum. It has get to large to bring in so it spent the winter out side. Is in to much sun and has not been feed or cared for for three years now. I only have 5 pots of this. It is still at lease 1-2 weeks from blooming.
I moved it out of the full sun and it looks better today.
Wow wren, so they take forever to bloom! Usually how long is the process? Clemen
I have not kept count of the days, but they get huge before they bloom. If I remember right they get 4-6 inches across, I have not stayed up late enough to see them bloom in a long time.. The one on my old parent plant may not get as big as usual but it has getten a third larger in the last two days. I will try to take a picture later.
Thanks Wren, will look forward to the next pix! C
Here is the picture of my bud today. I checked on the flower sit that I buy most of my epis from and he says the flower is 20cm wide.
wren, very cool, I am so excited about my flowers I will keep posting the progress . I made the first post on july 29th so we will see how long it takes to flower
laura
IIt's looking good wren, yours will bloom first!
Now if I don't forget and miss seeing it open. I missed all of the ones on my bigger plant last year.
Wren you can't do that I am counting on you, lol, Clemen
This message was edited Aug 8, 2008 7:42 AM
Mine might be farther alone than I thought. The poor plant was forgetten in the back yard. I was injuried in a car wreck and until last year my garden and plants get little or no car. I will start the nightly checking tonight.
geez wren be careful
I was careful, the dingbat teen ran into me. Totaled the car I was driving, was not trunk left on the poor car.
Oh my goodness, sorry to hear that. I hope you fully recover soon!
enough that I can do most things with out to much pain. Thats why I now grow everything in pots and have two so called yard guys(I call them dumb and dumber, but that is another story) to do the heavy stuff.
Of couse I have get carried away with buying epis have bought over 90 starting late last summer.
Some collection of epis wren, here is my cereous today, growing so quickly now! Clemen
I didn't mean to imply that you were'nt being careful but boy can life through you curve balls when you least expect it : ) I hope you are right as rain asap
laura
It is coming along I will take a picture of mine either tonight or tomorrow if it does not bloom. The wreck was in 1997. Took time but I'm doing ok. Took time to learn what I can don't(no more picking up 100 lb of bird seed or even 50 lbs of soil) and what I can do. Now I have the yard guys even it they know less about gardening than a 3 year child.
I am a collecter, and I do get carried away when I get interested any thing. Not counting the seedlings, I have over 100 cuttings and small plants.
No flower yet. But you should have seen me trying to get a picture of the bud last night. Only get one that looked good. I have a huge spot light that I was trying to light up the bud. Lucky I have a tripod, that light is heavy. Well try to take more later and download them.
Awesome job on the Oxy blooms, everyone.
I ALWAYS end up knocking them off, some how, some way.
One is surviving, and is now about the size of the August 6th update post.
Here is my update, my bud as of today. With my finger added for size.
NO! no bloom yet but it is getting bigger.
How much longer wren, mine are getting bigger too, can't hardly wait! Clem
I always walk out in the morning, only to find the closed, spent bloom :-(
Now the oxypetalum has a bud sprout forming ..... if I am lucky ....... :-)
Maybe the hookeri strictum will bud some more for me.
I have been checking mine around 10:30 each night. I remember that in the past they always open fully around 11pm. I have put it on the carport and have the tripod in place. So I am all ready. The only problem is lighting.
Once the flower is open, move it into someplace with decent lighting. I heard that they do not like to be moved when they set buds. But to move it for a few minutes to photograph shouldn't cause it any stress at all.
Unless, of course, you are a klutz like me and would definitely knock off the flower moving it to a brighter location for the photo shoot!!
;-)
I have moved it twice and it has not lost the bud, infact it acts happier. It is a very large pot so moving it some where there is enough light would be a problem. My bedroom has almost enough light but I do not wont it in the middle of my bed.LOL
I have been following this thread and watching for your flowers to open! I went out into my backyard this morning and looked at my big Epiphyllum hookeri and it has two buds on it. I am determined to see this thing with opened flowers! I have had this plant since the mid 1970's and have NEVER seen the opened flowers! By the time I go out they are just limp and dying. I have been taking a flashlight out every other night or so, with camera in hand ... watching .... waiting! I am determined to get a photo of an open flower this time!
Here's a picture I just went out and took of the big guy.
And, a picture of one of the buds
