I’ve had this plant since about 1984. Here’s a picture of it labeled 1988.
It’s an “epiphytic jungle cactus” – a kind of cactus that grows waaay up in rainforest trees.
Cactuses are plants that evolved to conserve water, and as part of that, their leaves transformed into spines. These epiphytic cacti took it a step further and lost almost all of the spines, so what looks like leaves is really all stem.
This plant grew very slowly until we got a little greenhouse 2 yrs ago. I transplanted it into a large pot and within one summer it shot up more than 6 feet. And this year it bloomed!!!
Nice pics.
I saw Night Blooming Cereus about 30 years ago in Bermuda while on a Marine Biology course. I’d be driving my little moped along and suddenly smell this rich sweet smell and sure enough it would be a big Cereus plant in bloom. Thanks for the memory.
After 25 yrs of no blooms I just about fainted when I saw a bud on the thing!!!
Does the flower on yours stay open longer than 12 hrs? This was beautiful but gone by the next morning. There wasn’t even any scent left in the wilted flower.
They only last the nite. My grandfather is Sligo had a substantial Epiphyllum in his solarium. I would sleep on the floor in hopes I would wake up to see it opening in bloom. He would always have to wake me up anyway, but unfortunately, after it had opened completely.
They smell sweet, but not overpowering.
I think they last more than a day. IIRC, it’s only a few days long. Then they drop their wilted sticky blooms to the floor for the dog to get stuck on her fur.
The cactus is so wild with horrid spikes. I keep cutting mine down. It was used as a grafted rooting stock for a pink cactus that long since died, and I put it in with three other small ones some years ago. The others flowered like mad again this year in the conservatory but the one like yours obviously keeps sending out these long ‘branches?’ and I have to cut them off. The thought of replanting the whole thing just makes me cringe.
You are a wonder to have kept it for so many years with no return until now. I take my hat off to you.
Nope. No spines. Actually, nothing I would even call “whiskers”. Without the flowers, it’s actually the ugliest plant in the house, but the week or so we get the blooms makes it worthwhile. Sadly, I don’t even recall where or when we got this. I think it’s about 10 years old or so. I don’t even know what it’s called. We really don’t do anything to care for it either, except to keep one of those glass watering bulbs (google: “aqua globes”) in it. Good luck!
