night blooming cereus

A week ago, Sunday last, I noticed that my night blooming cereus had put out a bud.

I acquired this plant a year ago last spring at the library plant swap and it was a little piece of leaf, about 3” x 4”, stuck in a pot. It has grown considerably in the year and a half I have had it but it's been sitting directly on the ground and the snails and pill bugs, of which we have plenty, pill bugs that is, have riddled it with holes and munched on edges.

I thought I would miss the bloom because we went into the city on Monday and didn't return til Tuesday. I was delighted to see Tuesday evening that the bud had not opened.

Wednesday and Thursday it continued to get fatter.

And then Thursday evening it started to open.

I brought it inside for a while for better pictures. The flash was too bright and totally washed out the petals.

It smelled so good, kind of a lemony fragrance.

Eventually I put it back outside for the night fearful that the artificial light would trick it into thinking it was day and it would close up. And also to let it attract whatever moths it could or would.