Burning the midnight oil

Dama de noche flower. Stunning.

They say New York is the city that never sleeps but nature got there first. It's the original 24/7 operation. I remember years ago being in my mother's small garden waiting to see a spectacle that only happened at night: the blooming of a Dama de noche (Lady of the night). As she described it this plant bloomed only at night peaking at midnight. When daylight broke the flowers would die. The flowers were beautiful and very fragrant. Definitely worth staying awake to watch this. Fast forward to the present. My mother still has her garden and the same dama de noche. Our little garden has many herbs and fruiting plants but very little flowers. Jessica loves flowers so my mom offered us a cutting from her dama de noche. She wrapped it in a damp paper towel and off we went.

Dama de noche in a hanging pot. Each branch can be cut
and grown as a new plant.

Let's put a pause to the sentimental, personal stuff (not even sure why I shared that to begin with) and let's dig into the nerd stuff now. You would be amazed to know that Dama de noche is a cactus. Yeah, a cactus. The scientific nomenclature for this plant is very confusing with many synonyms being recognized but it is usually considered part of the night-blooming Cereus. However, it does not belong to the Cereus genus but rather to the Epiphyllum genus; its full scientific name being Epiphyllum oxypetalum. The species is native to Central America and possibly South America, and is available worldwide through the horticultural trade. It has dark green branches which can grow several feet in length. In nature, the plant grows on trees, much like orchids. Its flowers are large, white, night-blooming and fragrant. Now you might wonder why it blooms at night since most plants bloom during the day. Well, day-bloomers are pollinated by bees, birds, and other diurnal creatures. Dama de noche, on the other hand, is pollinated by bats, moths, and other nocturnal creatures. This also explains why the flowers are so large and white. They are easier to spot at night (Yep, nature is amazing).

A few more flowers just because

If you are growing dama de noche it's certainly not for its looks (it's an unattractive plant in my opinion) but rather for its flowers. Be warned that not everyone gets this plant to bloom, especially on temperate climates. While we don't have a magic formula for making this plant bloom we can offer some tips to improve your chances. Dama de noche can be grown as a monopot (single species in a container) or in a combopot (multiple species in a container). We've found that it grows better in a monopot but it has produced more flowers in a combopot (Yes, nature is weird like that). Dama de noche looks especially nice in a hanging pot but make sure it is properly secured to the wall since the plant can get very heavy. Being a cactus a well draining soil is recommended. Water sparingly but do not allow the soil to dry completely. Fertilize once a month with a balanced fertilizer. Dama de noche prefers full sun but it can grow well in partial shade (3-4 hours of sunlight). It can be propagated via cuttings or (according to some websites) through seed. We wouldn't bother with seeds since cuttings are so easy to obtain and grow. Just snip a small branch from a mature plant and place in moist soil. In 2-3 weeks new branches will emerge and 6-8 months later the plant should be mature enough to produce flowers.

If you like flowers go out there and grow some dama de noche. You won't be disappointed. Until next time. 

Retaining water isn't always a bad thing

Micropuntia - top, Gymnocalycium - bottom left, ?? - bottom right

It's been a few days since we've posted anything. Ok, 6 days to be exact. But we're back! In our last post we promised some pictures of the cacti that we bought at our local nursery and here they are.

I find cacti fascinating. They come in many shapes and sizes but what amazes me most is the flowers. They are bright, large, and complex. Seeing a cactus in full bloom is a spectacular sight.

In order to provide the proper care to our cacti I started to do some research (Editor's note: Be a conscientious gardener and always research your plants). Cacti are succulent plants native to the Americas. Succulents have adapted to dry, arid conditions by storing water in their leaves, stems or roots which gives them a "bloated" or succulent look. Cacti usually have spines while other succulents don't. Identifying cacti is hard (at least for me). Flowers make identification easier but ours aren't blooming. An excellent resource for identification and all things cacti is the highly recommended CactiGuide.com. Based on the information available in this webpage I believe that we have a Micropuntia, a Gymnocalycium, and an unknown succulent (not a cactus). You may ask yourself why is this important. Why do you need to identify your cacti? Aren't all cacti the same? That would be no.

Each cactus has different soil, light, and water requirements. Knowing these requirements will allow you grow each cactus under its ideal conditions. As a good rule of thumb most cacti require 6+ hours of daylight, a fast draining soil and little watering. It is recommended that you water your cacti only when the soil feels dry. Overwatering leads to root rot so it's advised that you err on the side of underwatering. The proper soil is also important to avoid root rot. Soil recipes can be found all over the internet. Most recommend using a combination of potting mix, gravel or sand, and peat. We haven't made any soil for our cactus yet but we'll let you know what combination we use when we do. Placing your cactus on a south facing area (in the northern hemisphere) will maximize the sunlight it receives each day (Editors note: Unnecessarily geeky explanation will follow. You have been warned). This is because the sun doesn't move exactly from east to west in the sky. It actually "tilts" towards the south when it makes its travel across the sky. Only during the equinoxes does the sun move exactly from east to west. (End of geeky explanation)

That's all for the basics. Stay tuned for more info on cacti and all other plants in our garden.