The Night-Blooming Cereus or Queen of the Night: a Messy Houseplant with an Extraordinary Bloom

"As a plant, the cereus can be a bit of a mess.
It's generally rather untidy and unruly.
But it can be pruned without hurting the cactus.

To create more of the Cereus night-blooming cactus, just pot up the cuttings."

July 17, 1891

On this day, The Great Bend Weekly Tribune reported that,

"Will Ferger's night-blooming cereus unfolded its loveliness last night. Quite a number witnessed the blooming of this rare plant, and many have envied its owner."

The night-blooming cereus, one of the unique desert plants, is a member of the cactus family. Native to Arizona and the Sonora Desert, the plant is also commonly called the Queen of the Night or the Princess of the Night.

The cereus is generally grown as a houseplant, and it often is a pass-along plant - passed on from friends and family.

As a plant, the cereus can be a bit of a mess. It's generally rather untidy and unruly. But it can be pruned without hurting the cactus.

To create more of the Cereus night-blooming cactus, just pot up the cuttings.

Just keep in mind that the night-blooming Cereus won't flower until it is four to five years old.

The number of blooms increases as the plant ages.

But once it blooms, the white flower is genuinely incredible.

It's almost 7 inches in diameter and smells divine.

The flowers start to bloom at 9 or 10 p.m. and are fully open by midnight.

The morning sun will cause the petals to fall off and die.