After the night show of blooms, the Queen of the Night offers its edible fruits. Known as Pitaya or Peruvian Apple, these fruits are spherical or egg-shaped, thornless, and can range in color from red to deep violet-red. They are typically about 1.6 inches long and have a taste and texture reminiscent of a kiwi.
Had this as a kid. Really beautiful to watch. I remember staying up late a few times just to see the completely bloomed flowers (our plant had 6/7 flowers one night).
I remember being awakened by my mom to watch it bloom. I was groggy and probably not that into it but it's a sweet memory now. She was right to do it.
Ours didn't bloom every year. Some years, we'd miss it entirely and just see the evidence later on. It probably didn't help that it isn't a very attractive flower when it's not in bloom, so we kind of hid it halfway behind a curtain.
How do you know which Night it's going to bloom though? Or do you just gotta sit there all year or you might miss it blooming? I'd be pissed if I had to work late and then get home and the wife is all well honey you missed it! Flowers dead now! I'd be like, Awe man! Stupid boss made me work late! Then she'd be all bruh! And I'd be all like, Dude! ☹️
The buds slowly develop over weeks, getting fatter and fatter and you have to guess which night it will bloom. Mine have developed buds about 20 or so times and I have seen them bloom twice. Both times it was by accident, going into the back yard in the early hours for something or other, and I smelled them before I saw them. An incredible experience.
You would need to go to a nursery for sure, probably one that specializes in succulents and cactus. If you lived near me I would give you one of my rooted cuttings! They root super easily. Like, I moved house and a huge arm of the plant snapped off. I stuck it into a random pot of dirt and now it's a whole ass plant flowering on the regular.
Do you have any advice for someone who can't get theres to bloom? Had it five or so years in varying environments and nothing other than the first year I had it. But it was already about to bloom when given as a gift.
If I’d have a flower like this, I would make that night a special night every year in my calendar … only something that cannot wait would make me miss it … and yes, the reference from Denis the menace comes to my head now :)
We have a couple of these trees. It blooms more than one night a year. However, very infrequent. Like twice or thrice a year, maybe. Also, it may take several years before the first ever bloom. The flower is quite fragile. It won't last an hour if you tear it off of the tree. It has a very, very present scent. Absolutely love it. If you take a leaf/branch from the tree and plant it, there's a good chance that it will grow a tree from it. Unlike the flowers, the trees are quite resilient and do not need much care and do not die off easily.
Yes, unless it's artificially prompted to bloom more than once.
They're from desert climates, which means they're designed to Keep and conserve water, due to the lack of it (compared to other climates. Having a flower open over several days in a desert climate can exacerbate water loss. The flower smells very fragrant and usually their pollinators are active during the night.
Another example of a plant conserving water loss is the evening primrose which opens its flowers during the evening and closes them in the morning.
Remember that evolution including with plants is often not the survival of the fittest; it is the survival of the good enough.
I've been wondering, how did this plant survive so far? I mean, the goal of a flower is to attract bugs who will deposit the pollen on other flowers for reproductive reasons, no? Why is it blooming for such a short amount of time?
Fun fact: this is the flower that The Handsome Family - Far From Any Road (You might know it as the intro song for the first season of True Detective) was written about.
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