The Queen Of The Night, A Very Special Kind Of Orchid Cactus, Blooms Again At The St. Petersburg Botanical Garden

You have to stay up late to enjoy the opening of this extraordinary cactus, which is shaped like a majestic waterlily. If you are an early riser and usually early to bed – this plant is not for you! The queen of the night cactus flowers between dusk and dawn – for us she is the highlight of the party season.

A “Queen of the Night” cactus is in bloom at the St. Petersburg Botanical Garden, Russia. It is a night-flowering cactus that blooms with a great sense of drama. It blooms once a year for several hours only. The plant puts all of its reproductive energy into a single brief fling. It’s quite an extraordinary performance.

The flower is huge, deeply fragrant and glows as white as a full moon. Still, it’s a precarious way to make a living, and the true Queen, Selenicereus grandiflorus, is not often seen in cultivation.