Cereus Blooms at Night

In Houston, our night blooming cereus was a thriving, wild wonder delighting us with fragrant blooms on warm summer evenings, the air dense with moisture and the sound of cicadas. One memorable night our large indoor cereus erupted with the scent of half a dozen flowers in a single evening. Not so in the Northwest. This same plant made the several thousand mile journey to Seattle in 1991 and until last year, never put forth a single bloom until we (finally) discovered that it was not getting proper lighting. For the last two years, this crazy, twisted, and primitive plant revels in the indirect southerly light from the glass door leading to our second floor deck. And, with regular watering and literally no other tending, we've been rewarded with blooms. Finally.

Last year there were two blooms during the summer season and we missed the grand opening both times (out of town once and out of our minds the second). This year we spied the developing bud earlier in the week and watched carefully for the telltale sign that the bud was in bloom mode. Yesterday the bud started plumping up and showing a bit of white through the tightly wrapped celadon and pink outer layers. Determined not to miss the show this year, I sat close by, taking pictures, and enjoying the intermittent mysterious scent that is at first subtle and then overpowering as the microscopic mist from the inner depths of the bloom permeates the room. Intoxicating, impossible to describe, and so precious were these evolving moments. I could do little else but be still and witness.

In Houston the show would unfold in darkness but with Seattle's long days, this gentle opening began around 8:30 PM with light still in the sky. By the time the birds began to chirp at 4 AM this morning, this bloom's glory was spent, the petals folded in, the stalk lifeless, limp and finished. That the plant puts all its energy into this one gorgeous, but brief, series of moments is the mystery that unfolds again and again.



I just found R. Fovell's blog site; "Are you Cereus?" and have added it to my blogroll. Many good facts and tips on this most wild beauty.