Sunday, July 06, 2008

Night Blooming Cereus

No, I didn't publish photos with yesterday's blog about the blooming garden. If I took photos then I would have to wait til I finished the roll of film, get them developed and by that time, ya'll would be on to another subject. Just like the photos I just got back from the Los Locos parade. I'll save those for next year.........even though they are delightful. A digital camera is in my near future..........So Steve, here is a photo of something that blooms in the garden - but only at night!It is the most spectacular, exotic bloom that I have ever seen. I brought a leaf from Houston when I moved down here and I now have several plants. The bloom is about 8 inches across and has the texture of a gardenia.........velvety smooth. The fragrance is amazing. When I lived in Houston, I had the plants in the atrium which was closed off by glass windows and glass doors. I could tell when it was blooming because the fragrance would flow through the glass! It is a clean lemony smell - breathtaking!
The bloom starts out as a small cylinder initially and as it gets ready to bloom it lifts itself up into an upright position and then blooms at about 10PM at night and in the morning, it's all over!

When you look at it up closely you can see that there are subtle shades of lavender and gold although the predominate color is white..........It's a tropical jungle plant and therefore I'm amazed at how prolific it has been in this high desert climate.
However, we've had enough rain in the last week to qualify as rainforest climate...................I'm expecting blooms any night!


7 comments:

Todd said...

Very cool flower.

Before we moved to Mexico, we lived in a condo. Now it is so much fun working in the garden.

Hey, happy camera hunting.

You might want to check out this site.
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/recommended-cameras.htm

Todd

Steve Cotton said...

What is the plant called? Does the bloom last only one night?

Todd said...

And

Could I get a Night Blooming Cereus at a vivero in SMA?

Cause I am building my list.

1) Doc Severinsen
2) Hot air ballon ride
3)Night Blooming Cereus

Babs said...

Hi Steve, I don't know the botanical name but it is called a Night blooming cereus and yes, the bloom lasts from about 10PM til dawn.......AND Todd, I will gladly give you a stalk of the cereus and don't forget to add to your list:
Breakfast at Cafe Monet with Babs, Billie and Deb!

Todd said...

It's a date!

Islagringo said...

Did you know the cactus I call the fencepost cactus also only blooms at night? Beautiful, large cream, pink and yellow flowers.

Babs said...

Wayne, they do bloom in a pink, at least I saw those in Patzcauro at Meson de San Antonio last year - I was surprised.....maybe it's the same plant?