Last night, I experienced another first. Our night-blooming cereus opened its one and only bloom as I was heading upstairs to bed. Everyone else in the house was already asleep and missed the moment!
We were given two of these ungainly--some might say ugly--cacti by my very generous yoga teacher. The plants are apparently easy to propagate from cuttings. They are sprawling, cumbersome behemoths that don't look like much. That is, until they bloom.
Each plant produces only one bloom per year, and each bloom only lasts for one single night. By the time morning arrives, the blossom is already wilting. This makes the blooming event extremely special. Another special factor is supposed to be the intense fragrance of the flower, but ours seems to be missing its scent.
Nevermind, because the beauty of the blossom was enough to make me laugh out loud last night, as I witnessed this amazing event all by myself! I considered waking up my husband, but I wasn't sure if he'd appreciate it. His sleep is precious to him. So I grabbed my phone instead, and documented my first cereus bloom.
Since the plants are native to tropical locations like Hawaii, they have to be brought inside for the winter in our Maryland climate. I wouldn't have even noticed the flower if I had left the plants outdoors, but when I carried the pots inside, I saw the tightly closed bud on the end of a long, obviously new, frond. Similar to Christmas cacti, the new foliage is shiny while the older leaves become dull.
This morning, the event is over.
We were given two of these ungainly--some might say ugly--cacti by my very generous yoga teacher. The plants are apparently easy to propagate from cuttings. They are sprawling, cumbersome behemoths that don't look like much. That is, until they bloom.
Each plant produces only one bloom per year, and each bloom only lasts for one single night. By the time morning arrives, the blossom is already wilting. This makes the blooming event extremely special. Another special factor is supposed to be the intense fragrance of the flower, but ours seems to be missing its scent.
Nevermind, because the beauty of the blossom was enough to make me laugh out loud last night, as I witnessed this amazing event all by myself! I considered waking up my husband, but I wasn't sure if he'd appreciate it. His sleep is precious to him. So I grabbed my phone instead, and documented my first cereus bloom.
Since the plants are native to tropical locations like Hawaii, they have to be brought inside for the winter in our Maryland climate. I wouldn't have even noticed the flower if I had left the plants outdoors, but when I carried the pots inside, I saw the tightly closed bud on the end of a long, obviously new, frond. Similar to Christmas cacti, the new foliage is shiny while the older leaves become dull.
This morning, the event is over.
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