Night Blooming Cereus.avi

This plant is very old, given to me by an elderly neighbor just before going off to a nursing home. It had been in the Burkhart family for "a few generations" and he asked me to keep it going and to propagate it and pass it along for other generations to enjoy. The scent on these flowers is very powerful and finer than the most expensive perfume, and it fills up the entire yard with it's smell. These plants require almost no attention, and normally grow in the crook of a tree limb. We have had this plant at least 30 years now and it is still going strong. It is truly one of nature's wonders, and there are many colorful varieties of this plant with brilliantly-colored flowers. One day I hope to obtain other varieties of this amazing plant.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Night Blooming Cereus
• succulents
• Dutchman's Cactus
• cactus

[Xringer]

Wiki had a bit to say:

"They bloom just on one or two nights of the year, typically around May 30. Beneath the ground is a large tuber, often the size of a watermelon, that was eaten by Indians and early settlers because of its nutritious content.."

Under-ground watermelon? It's a wonder they weren't wiped out.

I wonder if they will grow in New England?

[wa5dxp]

@Xringer Hello: I did not know about the tuber, but our plant blooms several times per year, once just two weeks ago in December. I will have to dig down and see if there is a tuber as you say.

[hebneh]

There are a number of different cacti which are called "night-blooming cereus". The one mentioned in the Wikipedia entry quoted below is an entirely different one from the one in this video.

The cactus with the edible tuber grows in the American southwest and will not survive the freezes of New England.

This one, seen here, does not have a tuber. If its owner did in fact try to dig for it, he/she was not successful.