Origin
Brazil
Light
Bright indirect
Watering
Weekly
Care
Expert
Flowering
Foliage
Reine de la Nuit
With an enormous white flower that opens for a single night and wilts before dawn, the Queen of the Night offers the most fleeting and most fragrant spectacle in the plant kingdom.
Care Profile
A guide to ensuring your botanical companion thrives.
Origin
Central America
Light
Bright indirect
Watering
Rarely
Maintenance
Moderate
The flower of one night
Native to the forests of Central America, this flat-stemmed epiphytic cactus may wait years before flowering, then opens in the dead of night a vast, pure-white bloom of intoxicating scent.
By dawn it is over: the flower closes and fades forever. That impossible-to-keep beauty has made it, in many cultures, a symbol of fleeting grace.
"The Queen of the Night is never picked — you stay awake for her."
01
Styling Tip 01
Bright indirect light
Give it bright filtered light, as under a canopy; harsh sun scorches its flat stems.
02
Styling Tip 02
Water sparingly
Let the soil dry between waterings and cut back sharply in winter — that cool rest triggers flowering.
03
Styling Tip 03
Keep the pot snug
It blooms best slightly pot-bound; a tight container encourages buds to form.
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Origin
Australia
Light
Full sun to partial shade
Watering
Weekly
Care
Moderate
Flowering
Foliage