9 8 



The Canadian Horticulturist. 



THE NIGHT BLOOMING CEREUS. 



^gjN a late number we drew attention to the difference between the 



|H Phyllo cactus and the Cereus as bloomers, explaining that in 



Vgjf] many cases the one was taken for the other We now give an 



TOeI I \(SM illustration of the Cereus grandifiorus, or Night-blooming Cereus, 



__y§J a plant which has become famous on account of the immense size 



of its flowers and their great beauty. The engraving shows a 



young plant which, at three years of age, is said to have produced twenty-three 



flowers in one season. 



There are a large number of Cereus, several of which are night-bloomers. 

 They are natives, for the most part, of Mexico and other tropical regions. 



Mr. Blanc, in his catalogue on cacti, says there is a great pleasure derived 

 from watching the buds of the Night-blooming Cereus when they appear. At 

 first certain parts of the stem will 

 swell and gradually open, then a 

 little woolly tuft appears, which may 

 be a bud or a new shoot, and sev- 

 eral days elapse before this is settled. 

 Sometimes it takes about a month 

 to open, and care must be taken 

 when it gets to be about six inches 

 long and becomes lighter in color 

 towards the end, for many a flower 

 blooms before the owner is aware of 

 it, or while he is sound asleep. 

 Generally they begin to open about 

 eight o'clock in the evening, and it 

 is very interesting to watch them. 

 Really, you can see it move and ex- 

 pand, grow, as it were, and when 

 fully open the perfume is delicious. 

 The color of the flower is a creamy- 

 white inside, while the outside of it 

 varies from white to reddish-brown, 

 according to varieties. The flowers 



only remain open from four to six hours, then gradually close. The flowers may 

 be preserved for a long time in glass jars filled with alcohol and water. 



To propagate it, get a cutting, tie it to a small plant stake about three inches 

 above the lower end of the stake, taking good care to have the growing side up, 

 insert this in a 3-inch pot filled with clean sand, placing a little moss or peat ove r 

 the hole in the pot to keep the sand from running out. Let the cutting just 



Fig. 521. — Night BloomIng Cereus. 



