Cereus peruvianus flowers are red cream or white in color. Furthermore, you could spot them flowering only after dark.
In addition to these attractive colors, Cereus peruvianus flowers carry a sweet fragrance as well.
That fragrance attracts the moths, bats and some other night creatures which are crucial in pollinating the plants.
Cereus peruvianus blooms stay in bloom for a shorter period only. Literally they would appear in the night and close again on the next day at dawn.
Some people tend to use some tools and try to pollinate them also.
To briefly explain on the plants, they are native plants to Arizona and to Senora desert. These plants are known as Peruvian apple cactus in common.
They would reach a maximum height of 10m ( 33 feet) when they grow to their best potential.
Further they would be about 20 cm ( 8 inches ) in diameter. Cereus peruvianus tends to grow in a tree-like manner.
Additionally, they would carry a multi branched candlestick as well. Moreover, their individual stems would be gray blue to gray green in color.
Not only that but also, those stems would carry ribs and they may tend to take a twisted wavy pattern. These characteristics give a unique appearance for these plants.
How often do Cereus peruvianus flowers ?
Cereus peruvianus plants usually grow from June through August. They are known as free blooming plants.
Colors of Cereus peruvianus flowers
Cereus peruvianus plants would blossom with flowers in red cream or white colors.
How long do Cereus peruvianus flowers last?
Cereus peruvianus plants bloom at night and those flowers will stay alive for next morning. Literally they would stay alive less than 24 hours.
Once the flowering is complete you could spot them carrying a fruit item as well. Those fruits would be 2-3 inches in size and magenta in color. However, you could expect only several year-old plants to flower.
At the start, you could spot them carrying only one or two flowers.
However, the number of flowers would increase as the plant mature further. Cereus peruvianus plant flowers are 7 inches ( 18 cm ) in size. Their fragrance is heavenly.
To give you further information on their flowering, they would usually form on top of the stems. They would usually wither once dawn arrives.
However, if the pollination takes place, you could spot them carrying juicy red fruits. Usually, they would start to bloom around 09:00 p.m. or 10.00 p.m. By midnight they would be in full blossom.
The exposure for first sun rays would make the petals of the flowers droop and die.
However, if you wish to keep them in blossom for longer periods, you could expose them to a dark environment during their flowering season. This step will mimic the same conditions they get in their natural habitats.
Do they die after flowering?
Cereus peruvianus plants don’t die after they flower. Literally these are not monocarpic plants.
How to make Cereus peruvianus flowers ?
First of all you need to ensure that you provide sufficient sunlight for them and that you do not make them deprived of it.
The deprivation of sunlight would not be good on the plants as it will badly impact on the flowering of the plants.
In addition to that you need to water them at a moderate level and ensure that you do not supply them water in excess.
When it comes to fall and winter, you need to cut back in watering and suspend feeding them too.
During this period, they would slow the growth and conserve energy to produce flowers. Keep in mind that root bound Cereus peruvianus plants have a greater tendency to produce more flowers.
How to care for Cereus peruvianus flowers ?
Light requirement
Cereus peruvianus plants have a strong requirement when it comes to sunlight. As such when you cultivate them, you need to expose them for ample sunlight.
So, I suppose the best possible spot which would suit them would be a bright sunny windowsill when you grow them as houseplants.
I don’t recommend exposing them to direct sunlight as chances are that it could badly affect the plants and bring adverse effects on them.
Best would be growing the plants closer to grow light during winter as it would be difficult for the plants to thrive with low light levels in winter.
In fact, grow lights would enhance the lighting levels and you have so many options of grow lights to choose too.
Soil requirement
Ensure that you go ahead with a fast-draining soil mix to grow the Cereus peruvianus plants. In addition to that ensure it is well aerated too.
A pH level range of 5-7 would suit them the best. You may further consider adding substances such as sands, as they would better the draining of the soil mix.
Cereus peruvianus plants would prefer to have the same conditions they get in their natural habitats in cultivation too.
So, easiest would be to proceed with a commercially made succulent soil mix or with a cactus soil mix as they fulfill these requirements.
Watering requirement
Cereus peruvianus plants opt to grow with minimum watering. These plants used to grow in hot and arid conditions.
Further they have conserved water in their foliage as well. That helps them to thrive in drought conditions for prolonged periods.
I encourage watering them more often in spring and in summer as they would be actively growing in these periods.
However, you need to still ensure that you allow their soil to dry between two watering sessions.
It will help you not to create any over-watering condition in the pot. Over watering could be troublesome for the plants as it would ultimately result in root rot.
In addition to that it would make your plants more susceptible for other bacterial and fungal infections too.
When it comes to watering in fall and in winter, you need to water them less often as once a month. On the other hand, you need to water them once every ten days during spring and summer.
Temperature and humidity requirement
Temperature wise, Cereus peruvianus plants would always wish to have warmer temperatures right throughout.
Further when it comes to humidity levels, they would opt to go ahead with low humidity levels always.
A temperature range above 70 degrees Fahrenheit would suit them the best.in addition to that it is noteworthy that they are cold hardy up to 5 degrees Fahrenheit too.
Pot requirement
I suggest growing the Cereus peruvianus plants in pots which have a high porosity.
In that context, terracotta pots and clay pots would be ideal for this purpose. Moreover, it has to have one or two draining holes too.
Conclusion
Trust, you found this article useful and hope that it gave a broader view of the flowering activity of the Cereus peruvianus plants.
To sum up, Cereus peruvianus plants are such a versatile fascinating set of plants and their ability to flower attractive flowers make them ever more pretty.
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