Wow! This diva really knows how to put on a show! She is definitely true to her name! THE Queen of the Night!!!






The fragrance is /was simply awesome, and, I find it to be indescribable. I've smelled nothing like it before. I can imagine that many blooms at one time could be overwhelming.




An experience that I won't soon forget!!!

So beautiful, and your pictures are gorgeous!! Fun, isn't it?

Wonderful!

So beautiful! I'm very envious, as I want to experience the fragrance. Gardening has tried to teach me patience for many years, but I've not been a good student.

@terrafirma Gorgeous! I have lost most of my epis due to disease that got into the sunroom. Before I lost them one night we had 40 blooms and the fragrance filled the whole house. I agree that the fragrance is indescribable but once you've experienced it, you will never forget it.

Thank you all! Yes,Ursula, it is so much fun!

Funny that a you say that Sondra! I, too, have had a very hard time learning the art of patience! And isn't that what gardening is all about! Hurry up, and wait! I have also started growing orchids, and boy, oh boy, those have definitely tested my patience! But I do find them so rewarding, so maybe I am beginning to finally learn.

Jean, thank you!
I can't imagine 40 of those blooms at once! Not only gorgeous, but aromatically overwhelming! Yes, it's a fragrance I'll never forget!

Wonderful Tara!

Yay! Glad you finally got to experience the beauty of the Queen of the Night! She rules the night when she blooms for sure!

Your photos are outstanding. Just seeing them, I almost have a recall of the fragrance. It is indeed a unique and very fragrant scent. (If they could bottle it up, I'd buy it!)

@Beckygardener I sure would buy a case of it, if they could bottle it.

someday...somenight...someyear...sometime in the future I hope to have the olfactory experience!

at this point, all I have is growth on my cutting

Good job Tara, and great photos - now we wait until next year - Halloween, thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentines, Easter - before we know it we will be looking for buds again!

Thanks Mike!

I have another epi that I am waiting to bloom. I believe this one is Hooker's Orchid Cactus (Epiphyllum hookeri) also called Epiphyllum strictum.

The buds bloomed on different days, but got these photos this morning of 2 blooms:

Hooker's Orchid Cactus (Epiphyllum hookeri) also called Epiphyllum strictum:

Gorgeous, Becky!

Beautiful Becky.

Thank you! I have other Epis grown from cuttings but only one other one has bloomed (1 bloom) a while ago and none since. It takes several years from cutting to blooming plants, so that is the hardest part .... waiting and being patient.

Nice Blooms Becky.

This is my first year with Strictum and they seem to keep going and going. I still have two more buds coming. I got two more red blooms this week. I think our hot humid weather this summer has kept them going. (Another Hurricane passing by this weekend - our twelfth tropical system of the season)

Went to the local nurserymans sale yesterday evening and purchased some great plants including an Epi branch about three feet long for $1.75. No name but might be another Strictum. Its now cut into 4 cuttings and waiting to callous before going into one single pot. I can't keep putting one cutting per pot. Too Many pots.

Mike - I would love to see a photo of your strictum blooms! What a deal to get a long branch of less than $2.00!!!

Yes! I had been reading about the hurricanes coming your way. Crazy, huh?! Being in Florida, I've been very lucky (knock on wood) to not have seen another bad hurricane year since 2004. I hope I NEVER get another hurricane season like that one again!

I typically put 2-3 cuttings in each pot (of the same cultivar, of course). It helps the hanging baskets to fill out more and quicker.