I was at a loss of what to share today until I walked outside this morning and found that my cereus was blooming. The cereus is a member of the cactus family and it only blooms at night. The bloom lasts for a few hours and is usually withered by 7 a.m. There were three blooms this morning, but I have seen as many as nine before. The cereus is not a common plant. You will rarely find it in garden centers….it is more of a “pass along” plant. I got mine at a garage sale about five years ago. Two little old ladies were selling their home and were having a moving sale. I really wasn’t interested in buying it but they insisted I take it, so for the grand total of 50 cents that plant came home with me. They didn’t tell me what the plant was and didn’t tell me that it bloomed at night so imagine my surprise when I first saw it bloom! I have often wished I could go back and tell them how much joy that plant brings me! I have given cuttings of the plant to friends and family so they can share the experience and of course I “pass along” the story with the plant.
Edited to add that I walked out this morning (Saturday) and there were 7 blooms. I took a pic of the whole plant this time so you could get a better idea of what it looks like. Yikes, I need to move this to a nicer pot.
I also noticed that my red peace lily was blooming so I got a pic of it too.
And continuing with the surprise theme/red theme, here is a picture of the awesome red velvet cupcakes that my hubby made. He injected them with chocolate so when you bite into them you are pleasantly surprised with a chocolate party in your mouth!
I am linking to Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home.
Have a good weekend,
Marlee
6 comments:
Hi Marlee, so nice to meet you!
Well first off, I have only known one other person that had a "Night blooming Cereus" and I never got to see the bloom when it happened so this is a great post, thank you for sharing.
Second, you have a really cute blog and we seem to have many things in common...ie "the future mosquito breeding pond", my husband did the same thing with a waterfall the size of Niagra Falls in our back yard!
Also the little monogram table, I just did something similar with a $1.00 garage sale find:)
I am now you 11th follower:) and would like to extend the invitation to come follow me as well if you'd like. I think we could really get into trouble together if we were a few hundred miles closer!
Terry
Thanks for sharing... I love stuff like this. I had a weird cactus-like plant at my last home, similar to your Cereus, but with a more lily-like appearance. Like yours, it bloomed in the evening and early morning. Now I wish I had remembered to take a cutting of it to my new house. How did you propogate yours? Maybe I'll go back (only a few blocks away)and ask if I can take a part of it!
In my high school days, I worked at Office Supply Company in Greenville, Mississippi. We had a huge Night Blooming Cereus and we all got cuttings from it. I loved mine. Sadly, it did not survive as well on my front porch as it did in the climate controlled store! But mine did bloom a few times and it was wonderful.
Love your blog. As I said, I am a Mississippi girl, too.
Thank you all for your comments...it is so nice to hear from you. In response to how to propogate, from my experience I have simply picked up a cactus "blade" that had fallen on the ground and stuck it in potting soil and it rooted. In the winter I bring the cereus into my greenhouse. I have never planted it in the ground.
Wow, you have some exotic plants... really beautiful. Thanks for sharing. By the way, looks to me your husband is a keeper... those cupcakes look to-die-for. :)
Those are beautiful flowers. I'm not familiar with them, but I notice the stems look a lot like Christmas cactus, I wonder if they're in the same family.
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