What is the blooming period of night-blooming cereus?
This article brings you the blooming period of night-blooming cereus and some green plant maintenance tips about its flowering time, as follows:
Night-blooming cereus is a favorite plant for many families, with flowers that generally open in the evening, emitting a strong and pleasant fragrance. Let's take a look at when night-blooming cereus blooms and why it opens at night.
The flowers of night-blooming cereus are highly fragrant and very suitable for home planting. However, night-blooming cereus should not be kept indoors for extended periods as it can cause dizziness, coughing, and even asthma and insomnia. Let's now see when the blooming period of night-blooming cereus is and why it opens at night!
When is the blooming period of night-blooming cereus?
Generally, the blooming period of night-blooming cereus is from May to October. The large range is influenced by factors such as variety, temperature, humidity, soil, and climate differences between the north and south. In the north, the peak blooming season is in late June, while in the south, it is often from August to September. This is because the hot summer in the south leads to high humidity, which is suitable for the blooming of night-blooming cereus.
Why does night-blooming cereus open at night?
1. Night-blooming cereus relies on ugly moths for pollination, rather than bees or other small creatures. Since moths are only active at night, night-blooming cereus has evolved to emit a strong fragrance at night to attract them, showcasing the plant's adaptive ability to the environment.
2. The stomata of night-blooming cereus behave opposite to most flowers. While other flowers close their stomata when the air is humid and open them when it's dry, night-blooming cereus does the opposite. When the air is very humid, its stomata open wide, allowing aromatic substances to disperse more quickly, making the fragrance stronger. At night, without the evaporation caused by the sun, the ground temperature drops suddenly, cold air descends, and humidity increases. In such a humid environment, night-blooming cereus is more likely to open and the scent is more intense.
Why doesn't night-blooming cereus bloom?
1. The flower buds of night-blooming cereus are formed on the bulb the previous year. If the planted bulb is small and has not reached the flowering age, it will not bloom. Generally, the diameter of the bulb should reach 2.2 centimeters or more, with the original inflorescence formed inside the previous year, for it to bloom after planting.
2. If the bulb is dug up too late or stored improperly in winter, with too low temperature, becoming damp or frozen, the flower buds inside the bulb may be damaged by frost or rot, and will not bloom the following year.
3. Digging up the bulb too early may affect the differentiation of the flower buds inside the bulb, resulting in no blooms the second year.
4. Excessive application of nitrogenous fertilizer can lead to excessive stem and leaf growth, resulting in fewer flowers or even no blooming at all.
The sharing above about the blooming period of night-blooming cereus and the related explanation of its flowering time hope to bring a little help to your life!