How to Care for a Frosted Night Blooming Cereus

Night-blooming cereus (Peniocereus greggii var. greggii) is a type of cactus that prefers a warm climate with dry soil. If you have night-blooming cereus in a cold-weather climate, it may suffer frost damage during the winter months. This plant is tough and handles frost damage without the entire plant dying if properly tended. Once tended, it begins produces its blooms again at night during the warmer months.

Pruning shears
General-purpose 20-20-20 liquid fertilizer
Sand
Potting soil

Instructions

- 1
  Trim all the dead branches from the frost-damaged night-blooming cereus using pruning shears. Cutting the branches, even if cutting all the way to the stem, helps new branch growth.
- 2
  Fertilize the trimmed night-blooming cereus using a standard general-purpose liquid fertilizer with a NPK of 20-20-20. Read and follow the instructions written on the fertilizer's packaging, and then dilute the fertilizer to half strength. Combine a mixture of equal parts of potting soil and sand and then mix in the fertilizer. Spread the mixture around the base of the in-ground plant or mix it into the current potting soil if it is in a pot.
- 3
  Move the night-blooming cereus to direct sunlight if potted. Night-blooming cereus thrives in direct sunlight. If moved inside, place it in front of a window. If you cannot move the plant, covering it with thick blankets reduces frost damage.
- 4
  Water the night-blooming cereus with just enough water that moistens the new soil. Do not saturate the soil, or it may freeze. Do not water the plant again until there are warmer temperatures. The plant can live without watering during winter months.

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