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.

Hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday weekend. I got 2 epiphyllums in bloom just in time for Independence day!

Epiphyllum are also known as Orchid cactus, night blooming Cereus, Queen of the Night and Dutchman’s Pipe Cactus.

The word epiphyllum is derived from a Greek word meaning “upon the leaf”. The real Jungle cactus have no leaves but are just stems and branches that look like leaf.

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Mom’s epiphyllum have been blooming all summer. This one is much more fleeting. It blooms for a day and sometimes just half the day. It’s just a matter of when I get to snap a photo of it. Lucky me, it was blooming on Labor Day.

They are epiphyllums but also known as Orchid cactus, night blooming Cereus, Queen of the Night and Dutchman’s Pipe Cactus.

It gets full sunlight most of the day. But there is a large tree that provides some shade later in the day.

The epiphyllum tend to fall over if you don’t tie them to a stake. As the leaves are long and narrow. The smaller variety would probably be nice grown as a hanging plant.

Click on photo for larger view of the blooming orchid cactus.

These are the buds from my earlier photo taken back in the end of May.

This variety has tiny little prickly spikes. It grows along the edges and is almost invisible. So be careful when handling them !

My favorite version is the large pink variety that bloom for days. They should call these “Joy” flowers since that’s pretty much how I feel when I see them blooming.

A while back I found only one blooming epiphyllum, and now it looks like there will be more on it’s way. So I just had to take a few photos of these pretty little buds.

Epiphyllum are actually hybrids of epiphytic cacti species (jungle cactus) native to jungles of Mexico, Central and South America. The word epiphyllum is derived from a Greek word meaning “upon the leaf”. The real Jungle cactus have no leaves but are just stems and branches that look like leaf.

It’s very difficult to see, but there are little prickly spines growing upon these leaves.  They look almost invisible, so be careful when handling them.  They are still not as bad as regular desert cactus that are totally covered with spines.

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This ephiphyllum was found blooming at my mom’s garden. And right on Mother’s Day too. So it was a real nice surprise.

The plant is also known as Orchid cactus, night blooming Cereus, Queen of the Night and Dutchman’s Pipe Cactus. I like to think of it as an Orchid Cactus because it’s more of a succulent.

The flowers usually bloom in the summer or autumn.  I actually got a cutting years ago from a friend’s garden and planted them in my mom’s garden.  We didn’t know what color or type of bloom would show up. And the friend has since moved to Seattle for a few years now.  But I am happy to see it’s a bright pink bloom instead of the usual white variety.

Here is the side view.  The difference between the pink variety and the white one, is that the pink ones have a very light floral scent.  Which is good for someone who is not fond of any strong perfume scent.  

The only sad thing about this flower is that it blooms only for one night and dies the next day. Then again, maybe that makes it that much alluring.

Here is a photo of my dream hanging basket full of blooming Orchid Cactus. This may actually be a good way to grow them too.

Update: I picked the flower and put in a vase, it’s still blooming now. That is day 2. Let’s see if it will bloom for the rest of the week! So I was wrong, as this variety blooms much longer then the white variety.