June is almost here and I found my Peanut Cactus in bloom. This photo is from the first year of growing the cactus. It must have gotten it’s name from the peanut like stems.
As it grew out, the stems starting to stretch out. So for the longest time I thought it was named “Rat Tail Cactus”. But from looking at the bloom, it’s very much a hybrid type of peanut cactus. The blooms usually last a few days and start to wither off. For the next few weeks they will be flowering in succession.
In some ways the flower reminds me of the mini Orchid cactus (epiphyllum).
Most of the year it’s just a container full of scary spiky cactus. But when it starts to bloom, the color of the flower is spectacular.
Another interesting thing about this cactus is how easy it is to grow and propagate. I barely touched one of the stems and they fall off and start growing new stems. And of course it doesn’t need much watering.
My mom has a cutting of this desert orchid for almost two years now. They are also refer to as night blooming Cereus, Queen of the Night, Dutchman’s Pipe Cactus and epiphyllum.
Now it has finally bloomed and I am lucky enough to been able to witness it. For those not familiar with these flowers, they only bloom for one night. This bloom has a very light fragrance which I prefer over the larger blooms. It seem that the other variety with larger leaves and flower smell so strong. It would give me headaches just being around it.
The Queen of the Night blossom remind me so much of the in bloom. I don’t doubt they are related. But the Queen of the Night doesn’t bear any fruit. It only blooms for the night and shrivels up by the next day. And the Dragon fruit’s bloom is much more substantial looking.
Epiphyllum blossom come in various colors, from deep pink to white. So far I’ve only seen the white ones. At one time I even considered joining the local Epi Society ($12 annual membership). The membership comes with a free cutting. And at their meetings, you can meet people who are more than willing to give you growing tips and possibly cuttings too. I think that would be worth it (if only I had a larger area to grow them). But right now, one potted white version is fine.
Here is one bloom that shrivel up and had it’s chance to bloom. And there is two more that will be blooming tonight. My mom gave me a cutting that is about 1 year old, but there are no blooms yet. My pot and plant is much smaller. And I put in in partial shade most of the day. my mom grows her collection of various plants and flowers in direct sunlight and so far things are doing well. More photos: Dave’s Garden - many pictures of the night blooming Epi.
