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geeky_gardener

Night blooming Cereus question

geeky_gardener
19 years ago

I have a Night blooming Cereus. It has bloomed twice for me. My problem is that sometimes I get buds on it, and at different points in development it falls off or shrinks up. I have it ouside under a covered area, it's shady but gets some sun. What could I be doing wrong?

Comments (17)

  • SweetBernadette
    19 years ago

    Maybe try giving it more sunlight. I have three of various sizes, they all get lots of sun and do wonderfully well for me. Good luck!

  • kirstenholm
    19 years ago

    You posted my post! I'm flabbergasted as well that night-blooming cereus grow in Ohio. Somehow that seems so ... wrong! They should be on a California patio with the yellow bug light against the wall and the french doors open to let the perfume into the house.
    But Alison, if you get one, you have to share. Or I'm telling Mommy.

  • geeky_gardener
    Original Author
    19 years ago

    I'll try more sunlight! I have lots of buds starting! I hope I get a bloom! We make a big deal of it when it has bloomed in the past. It's a big disappointment when the bud seems like it will bloom and then falls off! :( I grow it outdoors in the summer and then take it in the basement for the winter, and I don't water it as much. This was what I was told to do by my mother. I was also told to put clay chards in the pot you put it in. I have had this plant for 16 years. I really don't feed it anything.... wonder if that is part of the problem???
    Thanks for the responses!
    ...Geeky....

  • alison
    19 years ago

    It might be a bit more difficult to get album covers to fit on our arms this time....

  • Patricia Setlock
    19 years ago

    I have a night blooming cereus and it has never bloomed. I moved it outside (zone 5-OH) for the summer and then I move it indoors and it has never bloomed. If it doesn't bloom soon it is going to visit the curb.

  • JoeStewart25
    19 years ago

    My night blooming cereus blooms about once a month in the summer. It is in part sun/shade. It is not very fussy indoors in the winter. The only bad point of mine is that it has NO fragrance. I have had mine for about 10 years

    Joe

  • geeky_gardener
    Original Author
    19 years ago

    I moved my plant so it would get more sun ( still some shade), but that has not seemed to help!!! Joe.... do you feed your plant something special??? I had 2 nice buds.... then they just fell off!!!! Why???? :(

    Pattybetty... I threated my plant one year.... I said if this thing does not bloom, it's gone! That year it bloomed.

    Geeky

  • kamir
    19 years ago

    An office buddy has this plant in a west facing window. For a few years it's grown nicely, but without a bloom...For the past couple of months he started 'feeding' it one can of beer a week...and believe it or not, it's now got 6 - 7 buds and the first bloom appeared last week... who'd a thunk it??

  • JoeStewart25
    19 years ago

    Geeky

    I use Miracle Grow about every 10 days. I had 10 flowers over a 4 day period with 6 opening one evening. The first night it was still in bloom at 9:00 am so I got some nice pictures. Good Luck

    Joe

  • alanrocks
    19 years ago

    I have a plant that is over 40 years old that my dad gave me a decade ago. (I've got photos of that plant blooming in the early 1970's!) I lug it to work every fall and home again after the danger of frost is past. It is in a full shade (but well-lit) area and blooms every year. This year it bloomed in June, July and August - each time on a different part of the plant. When it bloomed (2 flowers) the other night, I could smell it from 15 feet away! I've had blossoms as wide as 8", but the last batch were a puny 5" width.

  • geeky_gardener
    Original Author
    19 years ago

    I moved my plant to get a little more sun, and been feeding it Miracle Grow. ( I haven't had the guts to feed it straight beer.) I've got buds showing up again!!! I wonder if it's to late in the season for it to bloom? I sure hope they don't fall off again! Oh..... how I hope it will bloom this time!!! I also tidied up my plant staking it some more, and trimmed off some wild growth. I started 4 pots, each with 3 leaves. They seem to rooted already!!

  • ohiorganic
    19 years ago

    I have about 4 of them. one is at least 12 years old and bloomed 6 or 7 years ago shortly after I got it. It did not eve make buds again until this summer when 7 buds appeared about 10 weeks ago and an another about 3 weeks after the irst ones. All bloomed 3 weeks ago on 3 different nights.

    Cut one bloom off at dusk and by 10pm it filled the house with a wonderful perfume.

    the plant in question has been outdoors all summer on a north facing porch and has gotten nothing to eat except a bit of maxi-crop after the buds formed

    Lucy

  • Peteray
    19 years ago

    I've had night blooming cereus growing and blooming here in FL for many years. This year, for the first time, they are fruiting. the fruit is a brilliant, beautiful red with white flesh and small soft black seeds. Unfortunately, it is quite tasteless, but the fruit competes with the flower in beauty.

  • khanhly
    17 years ago

    Peteray, I just read somewhere that your plant is a Dragonfruit plant.
    Geeky Gardener - let me know what you found out about the buds dropping off. I had the same problem. I currently have a Night Blooming Cereus with buds. 3 weeks ago, I had about 11 buds. Concerned about the sun burning my plant, I moved it to another spot - partial shade. The large buds are doing fine, but the 4 of my little ones fell off. I was so upset about this. I moved it back to it's old spot. I also gets deer in my yard and I wondered if they nudged it???

  • shootbt
    2 years ago

    I had a bud fall off in front of my face this morning. It's almost as if the thing was shouting at me!

    Can we propagate with these in some way? Is there any way we can use the fallen buds?

  • L S
    2 years ago
    last modified: 2 years ago

    The buds of this plant dont all opdn. you csn tell, which wont; they turn a reddish color st the stem earlyArlurm. ive had mine over 30 years, and them fslling iff, doesnt affect it. i get as many as 8 to open at one time.


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