Help Please Pruning and Repotting Queen of the NIght

3 years ago

last modified: 3 years ago

Our 7 1/2 year old big day blooming Queen of the Night / cereus bloomed for the first time ever last summer, finally ! It was already on notice, bloom or else...and so it did perform. This after placing it into a South facing spot all winter, pumping it full with flowering fertilizer, and letting it become rootbound. The gorgeous blooms are its saving grace. It has not been repotted for over 4 years; it is rather ornery when it comes to handling it, and getting too heavy for us for carrying outdoors in spring and back inside again in fall. Also, this disorderly prickly thing is soon outgrowing the only available sunny South facing spot where it overwinters ( or else it won't bloom), squeezed in between a desk and a plant stand.

How can we repot and prune this plant WITHOUT risking loosing its flowering capacity coming summer ? We want to put it into a lighter plastic pot, and possibly downsize it, or at least prune it here and there. And not get scratched...

But here is my dilemma : I read that the cereus form flower buds on older leaves. So I can trim away the little pencil sized off shoots, fine. But do I have to leave the 3 foot long one piece leaves intact ? And what about the sections where one or even two leaves grow out of a bottom leaf? On the picture I can see that there are blossoms on the end sections, yet the bottom section is the older part which did not bloom ? What to do ?

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Comments (5)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
3 years ago
How can we repot and prune this plant WITHOUT risking loosing its flowering capacity coming summer ?

==>>

arent you basically asking.. how can you break what is finally functioning according to your wishes ...

put down the pot.. and walk away ... water properly.. dont over fert the pot.. unless you flood it out the bottom every time you water ..

and leave it alone..

crikey.. dont love the plant to death now that it seems happy ...

ken

PS: if you insist on messing with it.. watch some propagation videos.. and propagate a few dozen new plants.. and then you can mess with those to your hearts content...
Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
3 years ago
Your plant is not a night-only bloomer, or a Cereus. Compare it to Epiphyllum/Disocactus ackermanii. So many plants share the same nicknames, although they are totally different plants, it can lead people to read info about a different plant than the one they have.

To repot, wrap the top in a towel or blanket. It might be easier to trim off your least fav parts. At any time, you can remove any parts that aren't pleasing to your eye, or that you don't think will make blooms.

If anything breaks off, or you do any intentional trimming, you can use those pieces to start new plants to give friends/family.

I have the same struggles with these kinds of plants. They get so big!
doriswk thanked Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
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doriswk
Original Author
3 years ago
Thank you Tiffany for your suggestion of using a blanket for repotting. The present terracotta pot is getting too heavy to carry, and this plant wants to be outdoors in summer in order to bloom...

Would you mind sharing what the proper name for it is ?

As I said, it is day blooming, in fact the blooms remain open for about three days.

I have propagated small pieces all along for others.
Tiffany, purpleinopp Z8b Opp, AL
3 years ago
Happy to suggest! "Orchid cactus" is a good nickname for it. I suspect it's an Epiphyllum/Disocactus ackermanii, but I am not sure.

An alternative to repotting could be to get one of those little rolling stands for it, just push it out the door, unless it needs to go down some steps to get to its home outside.
doriswk
Original Author
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
It certainly does look a lot like Disocactus ackermanii, and it does keep the blooms open day and night until they die off after about three days. But the blooms do not produce a small seed bearing fruit, as described. I had been told by the lady who gave me the first two leaves that it was a Queen of the night, but I found out it does not bloom just at night.

So yes, orchid cactus it is.

There are steps leading outside. I normally repot my plants in spring, but with this one I think I will wait until after it has bloomed.