Epiphyllum Oxypetalum, aka ‘Queen of the Night’

The Epiphyllum Oxypetalum is one of many varieties of the night blooming Cereus. Because of their big showy white flowers, they are also known as Queen of the night, Princess of the Night or Lady Cereus. Some called the flower a ‘majestic water lily’.

The flowers have a nice fragrance and are almost always white. Unfortunately, they only bloom in the early evening, and by the next morning the flowers have wilted. Hence the name ‘Night Blooming Cereus’. You have to stay up to see them in full bloom.

Epiphyllum Oxypetalum are known as some of the easiest houseplants to grow. They are low maintenance plants. Give them water and you can pretty much leave them alone to grow. They are okay with sunlight, but not the whole day. Otherwise, they will turn yellow and look sickly. However, they need to have space. Their ‘branches’ can grow to quite some length. You can propagate them from ‘stems/branches’. Just cut a section of the ‘branch’ and stick them in the soil. Give them time to settle down and they will start growing.

I have been growing Epiphyllum Oxypetalum for some years now.

These were cuttings from the mother plant. There are about half a dozen of them. Unfortunately, only a few look to be healthy. The rest, although surviving, are kind of stringy. I will see what happens in the coming days before deciding what to do with them.

It was just over a year since I propagated them. I was rewarded with a single bloom from one of the branches last week. I was delighted. I am always very pleased to see them bloom. I followed their blooming process and took pictures of them right up till before I went to bed.

A young bud.

The branches were a bit dusty due to the renovation next door.

This was the bud in the early evening, getting ready to bloom. Blooming typically happens after sunset and it will be fully bloomed by midnight.

The flowers are white, large – some described them as flashy, and have a nice fragrance.

The short-lived flower wilted by morning.

You can click on the picture for a better view.

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