Night Blooming Cactus, also called Queen Of The Night, because it blooms only in the dark. Picture above was courtesy of my husband holding a flashlight at 4 AM, in order for my lens to focus on it in the dark.
I never noticed the blooms until July of 2007. At 6 AM as I floated on my back in the pool, I looked up and saw several blooms, it was not quite daylight and they were fully open. I grabbed the camera and started 3 years and thousands of photos of this amazing Queen that shows her beauty only in the dark hours of the night.
Click on above photo to see the progress of the bud over a 10 day period, it takes about 10 to 12 days to burst into full bloom.
For July and August of 2007 there were 3 to 14 blooms several times a week, my neck began to get stiff from shooting up over my head, since these blooms are 30 feet in the air. On Sept. 5, 2007 I received my birthday present from the cactus. over 40 blooms that morning, there are 29 in the photo above, the camera will not focus in the dark on ALL the blooms.
Click on the above photo to see the bloom with rain drops.
The photos do not show how awesome this plant is.
The bloom falls about 2 weeks after it dies
On my birthday, Bob got a ladder and his extender saw and pulled one down for me. Above is his arm holding it, to show the size of the bloom, 15 inches tall and 8 inches across the top of the bloom. this one had already started to close in the daylight.
The plants opens in the dark and the moment the sun rises the bloom droops more and more as the sun gets higher, by the next morning it is in full droop.
Click on above photo to see the progress of the bud over a 10 day period, it takes about 10 to 12 days to burst into full bloom.
For July and August of 2007 there were 3 to 14 blooms several times a week, my neck began to get stiff from shooting up over my head, since these blooms are 30 feet in the air. On Sept. 5, 2007 I received my birthday present from the cactus. over 40 blooms that morning, there are 29 in the photo above, the camera will not focus in the dark on ALL the blooms.
Click on the above photo to see the bloom with rain drops.
The photos do not show how awesome this plant is.
The bloom falls about 2 weeks after it dies 
On my birthday, Bob got a ladder and his extender saw and pulled one down for me. Above is his arm holding it, to show the size of the bloom, 15 inches tall and 8 inches across the top of the bloom. this one had already started to close in the daylight.The plants opens in the dark and the moment the sun rises the bloom droops more and more as the sun gets higher, by the next morning it is in full droop.
12 comments:
What an amazing plant. Great pictures.
Sunny :)
Beautiful!
These are fabulous...I understand completely.. white especially, is often difficult to photograph- nice job Sandra..just a terrific share!
Wow, that is a gorgeous bloom. I have never seen this plant before.
What a lovely man Bob is; to scale to those heights on a ladder and saw a bloom off for you: WOW! The blooms are awesome. Great photos.
That's amazing! (The plant, I mean -- not Bob, lol)
Now I'm thinking that would be a most unique spot for a midnight proposal ... a wedding, even.
I'm glad to see the last one of Bob holding the bloom. I had no idea it was so large. What an amazing plant. I guess I would never see it being that it blooms at night.
Sue
Hello,
What a lovely plant and beautiful flowers. The flower Bob is holding looks big and beautiful. Great photos and thanks to Bob for holding the flashlight.
Great photos! Take care, have a happy day!
I can't find words to say how beautiful this flower is. What a trouper Bob is to get that one for you.
Briony
x
Oh my goodness, these are absolutely gorgeous. The dark background makes them stand out beautifully. Great job on the photos and Bob needs a thank you for holding that flashlight.
Hari OM
Well, I had that thing of your post not turning up on my reader until the wee small hours of the next day... which says something about my midnight habits! Anyway, that strange time warp matches your wayback posting and I am glad I found my way. Beautiful. YAM xx
I would live to see this in person..the blooms are gorgeous!
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