Cactus That Flowers in the Night

Natural Habitat

• The night-blooming cereus grows throughout the western hemisphere. It flourishes in dry, desert-like habitats and in temperatures exceeding 90 degrees Fahrenheit. In the United States, you can find this cactus growing wild in the Sonoran desert of Arizona. It prefers sandy arroyos and often starts its life underneath a larger shrub or tree. This "nurse" plant provides extra water and protection from extreme desert temperatures.

Appearance

• For most of its life, the night-blooming cereus looks like a dead stick on the ground. Its thorny, grayish stems may grow up to 8 feet long. Each stem has four or five ribs and grows no thicker than 1/2 inch in diameter. The cereus will grow upward if provided with support, such as from a tree, but otherwise will sprawl along the ground. The white, many-petaled, heavily scented flowers bloom during the summer months and grow overnight to a size of 4 inches. If successfully pollinated, the flowers leave behind a small red fruit.

Care

• You can cultivate a night-blooming cereus at home. If you live in a warm climate, you can plant it directly in the ground in sandy, well-drained soil. Situate your cereus so it receives direct sunlight for most of the day. To prevent it from sprawling and taking over your yard, give it a trellis or tree to climb. If you live in a colder climate, you can pot your cereus and bring it indoors before frost strikes. Prune your plant by removing the suckers that grow from the base and cutting back unruly stems.

Events and Products

• The allure of the night-blooming cereus lends itself to special events and products. During the summer months, when the cactus blooms, various parks and botanical gardens around Arizona and elsewhere stay open all night. The flower literally unfolds before your eyes over a period of approximately three hours, so visitors attend these events hoping to catch a blossom in the act. Capitalizing on the mystique of this special cactus, one Arizona-based company has created a line of women's bath and body products that captures the fragrance of the cereus flower.