Nice bloom even if closing up.

At least you got to see it before it fully closed--the night blooming grower's lament :-(

Thank you Rina and noto, I am glad that I got to see a decent bit of it. I hope to catch the next one fully open. Also I did stick my and it in and shake it around in an attempt to pollinate. Guess that could be a literal meaning of 'Hand pollination' :)

Harry, I'm not certain but I think it's Trichocereus peruvianus or Echinopsis peruviana (not sure if there is a difference or just different names for the same plant) the tag said 'Monstrose' on it, I think because the ribs on the outside aren't straight in most places.

One thing I found interesting is that it had about 12 buds on it, but the plant must have figured it couldn't support all of them and only kept 3.

Gotcha!

Midnight

7AM

Very nice, Nick. And very tempting. Congratulations, you're now a trained plant paparazzo.

Pagan

p.s. nice pachypodium (?)

Bravo!!

With a glass of wine and the cameraworth waiting for.

harry

Thank you both :)

Pagan, I've never ID'd it properly, but when I bought it from the succulent society it had a tag that simply said "Fockea". I told the lady that was there that I didn't think it was Fockea, she said she didn't think it was a Fockea either, but that's how it was donated to them for the sale.

It's gorgeous,and worth the wait..

Kathi

Looks pretty good! I guess it was worth to stay up til midnight!

Beautiful! It's especially impressive that it's producing so many flowers at that size. I have a similar one about three times that height, but it's much more shy to bloom.

Trichocereus peruvianus and Echinopsis peruviana are two names for the same plant, but with those thin, deep ribs, I think yours is actually Cereus peruvianus monstrosus, which is different.

Most night blooming plants are pollinated by moths or bats and as a consequence have an amazing perfume.....did this? Beautiful bloom btw!

Gill UK

Yes Gill, it had a really sweet smell too it, I was surprised by it.

Glad you got the chance to experience it, the plant looks in great condition.

Gill UK

Looks like a pachypodium of some kind, Nick. A very healthy one too.

Worth losing sleep over :-)

Thank you all :)

And thank you kenizona. I'm terrible at cactus ID and I think you may be correct. I think someone had recommended that ID in a thread once, but my memory is terrible.

I agree pachypodium, and think it's p. lamerii.

ez

Well that leaves me a bit stumped(no plant puns intended). My other pachy I had labeled as lamerii may actually be a geayi as I thought but doubted because I heard they are far less common.

Beautiful flower, Nicholas! I am so happy you had the opportunity to snap that photo & share.

I second kenizona's cereus peruvianus ID. They can grow 10/15 feet tall when planted in-ground. In pots, it's a different story ... they're a bit more tame and often revert to fairy castle.

Great collection ... Thank you for sharing.

Lamerii and geayi look very similar to me when small but I think geayi has much longer leaves. Take my ID with a grain of salt- I'm no pachy expert, just interested in them.

ez

Here's the one I was referring to. The leaves are much different and I love the coloring, they are dark green with a pink midline.

Lady, thank you for the kind words and the confirmation on ID :)

That one is a Pachypodium gaeyi--it is distinctly silvery, blue-greenish. Lots of water in summer if in gritty mix. FYI, it will die after two weeks in -20C lol

Pagan

Found this a bit ago at davesgarden, commenting on p. geayi:

"On Nov 4, 2006, palmbob from Acton, CA (Zone 8b) wrote:

This is one of the two most commonly sold and grown Pachypodiums in California (but not the most common- that is P lamerii). It is often confused with that more common plant, but distinguished by having thinner leaves accented with a prominent midrib of a different color than the rest of the leaf. The leaves, compared to most other Pachypodiums, are less green, though if watered well and happy, the leaves are green.. just a duller and darker shade of green."

All nice, healthy-looking plants and flowers Nicholas, thanks for sharing!

ez

Thanks Pagan, If we happen to have a winter that dips about 24C degrees below our average then I'll be sure to bring it in :)

Thank you for the description Ez. It had the tag P. geayi on it when I bought it, but being from home depot I had just assumed it must be the more common lamerii.

Those are beautiful!