Epiphyllum oxypetalum, the night-blooming orchid cactus. Flat, strap-like stems and enormous fragrant white flowers that open after dark and collapse by morning. A shade plant for a covered patio or a bright room.
Queen of the night is a jungle cactus — an epiphyte that grows in tree crotches, not on desert floors — and its flowers are the event: eight-inch white blooms with a sweet, heavy fragrance that open over an hour after dark and are spent by sunrise. A mature plant produces several flushes a summer. The rest of the year it is an untidy but handsome mass of flat green stems that can be trained on a trellis or left to arch from a large pot.
In Queen Creek it wants what its relatives the holiday cacti want: shade, regular water in the warm months, a dry-ish winter, and protection from frost. The rest of the bench is on our Succulents page.
This is the queen of the night we commonly carry. Availability changes week to week and season to season, so call (480) 987-3308 or stop in to see what’s on the bench today.
Flat, scalloped green stems to three feet or more on a plant that eventually needs staking or a trellis. Fragrant white night-blooming flowers up to eight inches across in summer. Shade, regular summer water, frost-free.
Looking for one that isn’t listed? Ask — we can usually suggest a close match or tell you when it tends to come around.
The care tag was written somewhere else. This is the Queen Creek version.
Bright shade or filtered light: a covered patio, the east side of the house with morning sun only, or a bright room indoors away from the window glass. Direct afternoon sun yellows and scorches the stems. In deep shade it grows but rarely flowers.
It flowers best slightly pot-bound, after a cooler, drier winter rest, on stems that are at least a year old. Don’t repot more than every three years. Buds form along the stem edges in early summer; don’t move the plant once they appear. Flowers open at night — set an alarm — and wilt by morning.
Bring it under a roof or indoors when nights drop below about 35°F. In summer it handles dry heat in shade if watered regularly, but the monsoon-season humidity is when it looks happiest. Indoors year-round it wants the brightest indirect light you have.
From March through October, water when the top inch is dry — every four to six days for a pot outdoors in the heat. From November through February, every two to three weeks. It is a jungle plant, not a desert one, and dislikes drying out completely in summer; but it rots in soggy soil, so a chunky, fast-draining mix in a pot with a hole.
Mature plants sprawl. A hoop trellis or a few bamboo stakes in the pot keep the stems upright; a large hanging basket lets them arch down instead. Prune out old, woody or damaged stems at the base in spring; cuttings root in dry mix.
Non-toxic to cats and dogs. Mealybugs and scale on the stems; treat with insecticidal soap. Feed a balanced fertilizer at half strength monthly from March through August, then a bloom formula in late summer.
Stretching, mushy stems, a sunburned side — snap a photo of the plant and where it lives and we’ll sort it out at the bench. Advice is free.
Succulents live or die on drainage. We stock cactus and succulent mix, pumice and grit to open it up further, slow-release low-nitrogen fertilizer, and the shallow terracotta and glazed pots that dry out the way they like. The pottery yard has bowls, strawberry jars and hanging baskets for the trailing types.
It needs to be a few years old, slightly root-bound, in bright shade, and to have had a cooler, drier winter. Stop repotting it, move it to a brighter shaded spot, and feed a bloom fertilizer in late summer.
Every four to six days in summer when the top inch is dry, every two to three weeks in winter. It wants more water than a desert cactus but never soggy soil.
Morning sun only. Afternoon sun in Queen Creek yellows and burns the stems; a covered patio or the east side of the house is ideal.
Yes, epiphyllums are non-toxic to cats and dogs.
Under a patio roof against the house, usually, with cover or a move indoors on nights below about 35°F.
One night. They open after dark, peak around midnight with a strong sweet fragrance, and wilt by morning. A mature plant produces several flushes over the summer.
Queen of the Night live on the succulent bench; any staff member can point you to them. Locally owned, and a short drive from San Tan Valley, Gilbert, Chandler and Mesa.