Find Your Ask the Expert: Century plant, night blooming series
A cousin of mine gave me a (ugly plant), she called it night blooming plant, hers never bloomed.
I kept the on she gave me in a gallon ice cream bucket, with soil and water absorbent filler, watered and fertilized regularly, and in 2007 it bloomed on my closed-in porch. A very beautiful white bloom, about 6′ or more across/around. This year it had 2 blooms in August and one again this Month, October 2008.
My question is: what is the real name? Joan
See Attached Photo
White Bloom Opens At Night
Joan,
I think you have a night blooming cactus. It is hard to tell from the bloom only. I think it is either a Selenicereus grandiflorus or one of the Cerreus – Peniocereus cuixmalensis or Peniocereus hirschtianus.
it is a night blooming cactus and is of the cerreus family the plant is nothing to look at but the blooms ar really neat
Although I’m very fond of these plants, they have overtaken my mom’s rock wall and entangling themselves all around our bamboo trees and other bushes and shrubs. They have had a few years to do this and we keep cutting them back and throwing the cuttings in a pile in the yard which then gets overrun with the long cactus vines it grows. My question is.. is there a way to erradicate and cut back this very hearty plant using root killer? The vines have grown everywhere and we need to control them and removing the cuttings from the yard since it easily and rapidly grows wherever we throw the cuttings.
Thanks very much. I will look into keeping one cutting only for house purposes.
Marcus
Marcus,
You can spray it with roundup or Hi Yield killzall. However if the vine is entangled with plants you don’t want to kill, you will have to wick it. Wicking is the process of using a cotton glove dipped in the weed killer and then touching only the plant that you want to kill. I usually place a rubber glove on then the cotton glove. The best time to do this is when the plant is actively growing and on a hot day. Be sure to water the area the day before. Good luck and keep me posted.
Does anyone know the name of this cactus?
Attached Image: iris cactus 001.jpg
It is called “Flor de la Luna” (moon flower). Because it only blooms at night, and usually on July (cancer sign). :)
Where could I buy one of these? I had one at the time my home burned, and have not found another since. Never got to see it bloom, and the one I’m looking for grows tall and has a thin cactus leaf that grows long and about 2 inches in width.
Jerry, finding a specific cactus is not always easy, depending on where you live. You can ask your local nursery or garden center for help finding Peniocereus cuixmalensis or Peniocereus hirschtianus.They should be able to help you or at least point you in the right direction.