Queen of the Night Blooms!
Queen of the Night blooms! For one night a year only! My neighbor, Zdena, grows many Nightblooming Cereus, or Selenicereus grandiflorus cacti, and one was blooming tonight. She texted me and I ran over. It’s a challenge photographing this amazingly intricate flower with it’s deep, coiled center, in the dark! The flower is probably eight inches across.
Queen of the Night
You’d never guess from looking at the bud (see “The Queen That Didn’t Bloom”) that this big bloom is folded up inside a bud like this.
Bud, 2 Days Before Blooming
Night blooming cacti have to wait for cooler night temperatures for their pollinators to do their job. They usually bloom in late June around here. If the Sphinx Moth, one of its biggest pollinators, succeeds in pollinating the flower, the plant will produce a a bright scarlet fruit with black seeds. I have seen two of these in my garden, but I’ve never had one pollinated.
Hyles lineata; White-lined Sphinx Moth, pollinator of Queen of the Night
Here’s another shot with different lighting. The scent is just as lovely and powerful as the blossom.
Night blooming Cereus cacti
Nature in it’s infinite wisdom created a spectacular flower which blooms once a year, or years, only at night! Have you seen one of these in person? It’s quite remarkable. I now have my own plant that is huge! It’s easy to propagate, Zdena just gave me a cutting, and there are stems now reaching eight feet.
Thanks for reading! – Kaye
Category: Flowers
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- The Queen That Didn't Bloom - Late Bloomer Show | July 29, 2014
Beautiful! Thanks for sharing, Kaye. Just love everything you post. You’re amazing!
XxxMarie
Sent from my iPad
Thank you, Marie! I just love know folks half way around the world are appreciating my photos and videos! Well, the UK is not HALF way, but now I have a blog friend in China! Have a great day. I hope you see Mitch in Chicago! – Kaye
Beautiful, Kaye! So glad to see the bloom and wish I could smell it. There was a movie that had a flower that bloomed only once in many years. It caused highjinx and was a funny subplot but I can’t remember the movie.
I think the movie in question is “Meet the parents”?
Wish I could produce “scratch and smell” on my blog! Wouldn’t that be cool? Anyway, I’ll have to check out the movie again. Doubt if it’s this flower, though.
What a shame it just blooms for only one night only!
All that extravagance to bloom one night where no one can see it. Zdena gave me a plant a year ago. It had one bloom grow on it a month ago, and I missed it. 🙁
Truly God’s creation. Beautiful. Thanks for capturing.
Thank you, Annette! Thanks for following! – Kaye
Truly worth staying up late to see!
Yes, and you must be patient and observant not to miss it. 🙂 Thanks for writing! – Kaye
Kaye that is so gorgeous!!! I prefer the second shot. I have smelled this flower before and it is magical! Thanks for this 🙂
*anna
Thanks! My neighbor and friend were alternately shining a light into it. – Kaye
They done you good Kaye…she’s a beauty.
wow!! sooooooooo beautiful!! thanks for sharing these photos!! and your tomatoes the other day,too. i had them for lunch! delicious!! 🙂 THANK YOU!!
Thanks, Andy! Hope you enjoy the tomatoes from yesterday! Tom Shadyac was positively psychic last night! “The most revolutionary thing you can do is grow your own food.” – Kaye