A few years ago, my brother gave me a piece of a plant that he had on his front porch. He said that it was there when he moved into the house. The home used to be our grandparents' place and I do recall there being a lot of plants there when our grandparents were alive. The plant was a cactus of sorts and greatly resembled the Night Blooming Cereus that I had (from the same grandparents). He said that his plant had never bloomed to his knowledge even though it was about 30 years old. Hmm...well, it was still interesting so I gladly took my "leaf" home to root. The cutting did well and soon became a huge plant that I lugged in and out of the greenhouse to protect. I was happy with the night "non-blooming" cereus just because it was an interesting cactus. Whereas the other cereus plant leaves were flat, these start out triangular and then flatten. Such an odd addition to my "rainforest".
Well, now three years after the gift of a cutting, the cactus decided it was time to bloom! Last night, I stayed up far too late for this old lady just so I could view (and photograph) the bloom. Needless to say, that 4am rising time came before I was ready but Bat, the cat, thought otherwise. Happily, the bloom was still open although a bit weary itself. I smiled as I stepped out the French doors before dawn. Seeing that single flower well made up for the lack of sleep.
Now comes the bit of studying time to find out exactly what type of night-blooming cactus this is. There are so many different types out there! Having the triangular stems (leaves) and the smaller bloom should help in the research. Also, rooting more has become a priority!
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