Night blooming cereus frostbite
This is my beloved night-blooming cereus. It's currently in a bad shape because I left it in the cold too long. I think I moved it indoors at the end of October and the sudden drop in temperature caused most of the leaves to turn brown. Also the rainy weather in spring didn't help much and it didn't have a good start. It didn't have the perfect conditions to bloom like last year. Last year I had 7 beautiful blooms in one night and every time it booms it's an event. The blooms usually last for one night and the the flowers give off this heavenly scent that fills the whole deck. Check out the time elapsed video here, it really does open before your eyes, it's an amazing plant, don't let its look fool you!
After some serious deadheading, it doesn't look too bad! Please don't die on me!
Some cuttings for my colleague who happens to love gardening.
December 15th, 2009 - 23:47
Oops! They don’t like cold very much. It looks fine since you cut off the frostbitten parts.
December 19th, 2009 - 21:49
Nell- I learned my lesson this time. I always knew they don’t like the cold very much and it’s my fault this time for not bringing it in earlier. It is a hassle to move it in and out every year and I can’t do it myself because it is too heavy!
December 18th, 2009 - 02:36
Aww. Bummer. Hey, have you ever killed a really great plant before? I’m putting together a post about killing plants (accidentally, of course. I’m not talking about plant murder
).
December 19th, 2009 - 21:47
Hi Fern- of course I’ve killed a great plant before! I’m hoping it’s not this one!
December 23rd, 2009 - 14:56
I hope it makes it, it does look OK though. I’ve got one and it’s never bloomed. What’s the secret? do you fertilize it? and if so, what do you use? I did repot mine and all it’s done is grow lots of new leaves.
December 24th, 2009 - 12:28
Hi Helen- I really don’t have any secret to make it bloom. My mom has the same cuttings and we started growing it at the same time but mine is three times bigger than her plant! I put it on the deck where it gets the most sun and they love the heat. They don’t like soggy soil and I only water it when the top of the soil feels dry. If your plant is growing lots of new leaves it’s a good sign, maybe try to put it in a sunny spot. Once in a while I fertilize it with a bloom fertilizer (highest phosphorus number you can find). How long have you started your plant? If you’ve only had it for a couple of years, sometimes it takes few years to start blooming. I seriously don’t put too much care to the plant and I think they like a little neglect sometimes. Good luck! Please do come back and let me know how it goes.
December 27th, 2009 - 14:59
Thanks for your reply, much appreciated. I feel a bit more hopeful for blooms. I do think I’ll take some cuttings though and start a few new plants too. Maybe I’ll get lucky. Happy New Year!
January 16th, 2010 - 19:41
Hello Helen…I have a night-blooming cereus that I married into. The “mother” plant belonged to my husband’s grandmother who lived in Atlanta, Ga. I live in North Carolina and acquired a cutting of her original plant 2 years ago. I repotted the plant and added a trellis for support. I fertilized with Super Bloom during the summer and had beautiful blooms. I brought the plant inside in early October before our first frost. I trimed it a bit and will place it back in my garden after the threat of frost passes – usually late April. I have photos of the blooms on my website.
January 16th, 2010 - 21:07
Oops…typo in the website…it’s livingleaf.net. Let me know what you think about my night-bloomer.
September 11th, 2010 - 00:46
These plants like to be root bound and prefer heat and draught conditions.