Five Years in the Making…

The arrival of this long-anticipated bud on my Night Blooming Cereus plant is so exciting to me (probably not you) that I HAD to share.  A little over five years ago, I was given a cutting of a Night Blooming Cereus plant from a good friend’s father.  The thing about this plant is that it generally flowers only once a year, and the buds grow over a short period of time (10 days – two weeks).  The flower blooms after dark and only for a few hours before wilting and falling off.  Well, I have propagated this plant twice, and have never once had a bud.  I knew it would probably take a little bit of time, maybe a year or two, but not five years.  Actually, my original plant is not the one sporting the bud – it is growing on one of my more recent cuttings, which is probably two – three years old.  I have witnessed my friend’s father’s plants blooming on several occasions (with multiple buds) and they are absolutely gorgeous flowers, emitting a lovely fragrance.  Often, those who grow these plants will invite  people over to watch the flowers bloom, since it is considered such an event.  Seeing as the flowers are about the only things that the Night Blooming Cereus has going for it (it is an otherwise gangley and relatively unattractive plant), I am thrilled that I will finally have a flower on this baby!  I will try to capture the whole event and post the pictures as it develops…