The word “cereus” means it is a cactus.
Most types of night blooming cereus are fragrant.
All are perennial where they natively grow.
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Night blooming cereus plants are tropical.
They don’t thrive in the shade.
There are at least 10 varieties (genera) of night blooming cereus.
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Confusion often results when using common names for discussing them.
For example, many plant species are called “queen of the night.”
Read on to learn more about 10 of the most popular types of night blooming cereus that bloom spectacularly.
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Most types of night blooming cereus need watering more frequently than other cacti that grow in arid deserts.
Feed them every other week in spring and summer with a fertilizer specifically for cacti.
Usually, when a plant isroot-bound, that’s a bad thing.
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But that’s not necessarily the case with this plant.
The more root-bound it is, the more likely it is to flower.
The ‘Fifty Grand’ cultivar bears 8-inch, deep, rosy-pink flowers.
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Grown in a hanging basket, this hybrid can be hung in a pergola outdoors in summer.
Care requirements are the same as forEpiphyllum oxypetalum.
It grows 1 to 2 feet tall.
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That’s whyEpiphyllumflowers better root-bound than when in pots with more soil in them.
‘Thousand Pinks’ grows 3 feet tall.
If pollinated, the flowers mature into tasty edible fruit.
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But care requirements are the same as forEpiphyllum oxypetalum.
Dragon Fruit Cactus
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Dragon fruit cactusis another throw in of night blooming cereus.
Its large flowers appear from July through October.
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Dragon fruit cactus also bear neon-pink edible fruits.
LikeEpiphyllum,Hylocereusneeds more water in hot weather.
In summer, give it adeep wateringthree times a week.
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Feed every other month in summer with a low nitrogen cactus fertilizer.
But barely water it at all in winter.
It grows 5 to 10 feet tall and needs support for its heavy fruit.
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In winter it should be barely watered at all.
Feed it with a fertilizer specifically for cacti two or three times annually for optimal performance.
Water it regularly, but don’t overwater it.
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It can tolerate a little more shade than many cacti.
This plant grows 1 to 2 feet tall.
It needs less watering and more sun thanEpiphyllum.
San Pedro cactus(Echinopsis pachanoi) is multi-stemmed and fast-growing.
Like the better-known peyote, it is hallucinogenic.
Feed it with aslow-release fertilizerspecifically for cacti throughout the growing season.
But barely water it at all in winter.
It can grow up to 30 feet tall in the wild.
