Night Blooming Cereus

[NCRAS]

Wild story... Probably not... Circa 2005, a friend was filling up with fuel and found this cactus discarded in a pot with no identification. When he gave it to me, he said what are the odds that he would find something like this and know who to give it to? After a couple of years, it produced an amazing flower. Unfortunately, it was killed in a freeze more than several years ago. Since there are multiple varieties/species? of this cactus, I would like to positively identify it and replace it. Please help me identify it and share with me where I can obtain one. I reside north of Sacramento, CA. Thank you in advance.

[nachtkrabb]

...is it possible that this would be some Selenicereus? The flower with the variant outer petals looks like it, as well as the way it grows.
Do you still have some detailed pictures of the stem, especially of the spines?
Did it grow with some support or just on its own?
N.

[nachtkrabb]

Have a look at http://www.kuas-kettinger.de/index.php/harrisia.

[NCRAS]

Thank you for the reply nachtkrabb . As I recall, it always needed support. The arms were somewhat random as you can see in the photo(s). One unique thing I recall after looking at the photos is that the spines were small and there were perhaps (a guess) 4-6 spines per cluster.

[anttisepp]

Selenicereus grandiflorus

[nachtkrabb]

Well, I admit, that is what I thought of also at first. But the flowers look a tiny bit different to S.grandiflorus to me.
I admit, I live with one for 15years, and of course that is my main source, together with the "mother plant" at the Sukkulentensammlung Zürich (Succulent Collection, Zurich, Switzerland).
At their flowers, the outer petals are richer, there are a lot more of them. And the inner part of the flower also looks slightly different.
When I got a third Sel., I was given a link to a decision tree to find out, which Sel. it is. So all we have to do find the appropriate topic of mine (ie that I created) from July (or August) 2021. Then we get the decision tree and you will know which Sel. you had.
I admit I am too tired tonight... Maybe on the weekend...
N.

[NCRAS]

Thank you anttisepp & nachtkrabb. If you look through the images in the link below, some appear to be a dead match. And that the cactus is not self-supporting (it had never occurred to my simple mind that this cactus was not self-supporting), the photos allow one to visualize how this cactus thrives - very cool at least to me. I think the small cluster of spines in addition to the flower helps to narrow down the identity of this cactus. But when it comes to details like the petals... That seems to be a real challenge for me. Thank you for your assistance.
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/168776 ... wse_photos

[nachtkrabb]

...oh gosh... Those pictures at your link look pretty, but not helpful to me. I will search asap for that decision tree-link.
You did check out the table in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selenicereus...?
N.

[nachtkrabb]

...got it finally. Our thread was https://cactiguide.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=388634, please check out the flowers etc. there if familiar. That is a Sel. coniflorus and looks close enough to your plant. (Mine hasn't flowered yet.)

DaveW gave me this link to the original "key to species" (ie. decision tree) of Britton & Rose. It holds all Selenicereus which had been known then. Please walk through that, and I do hope you will find your plant.

Good luck with your search
Nachtkrabb
.
.
We have started to give our Selenicereus "Bamboo Palaces" to climb. I have the idea that they somehow sense that and grow harder & try it out.

A Bamboo Palace for the Queen!

photo_2021-06-17_19-15-08-Königin.jpg (141.22 KiB) Viewed 1185 times

[NCRAS]

Wow! That is an amazing specimen! Grand idea on using bamboo. I have a couple of small bamboo groves and when I obtain one of these cacti, I am will utilize bamboo as structure. Thank you again for your efforts.

[nachtkrabb]

...you're very welcome. Hope I could help you.

That plant in the picture is now about 16years old & I have two of similar size. What I have learned of them & what I did better with the third, which is a lot smaller & will stay so:
* You won't ever want to repot it again. Do give it the pot you want it to have in 10years time. (This I did well.)
* You won't ever want to rebuild that lattice again because it is really ugly to do so. (This I did wrong, see below.)
* Decide beforehand, how big you want it to allow to grow -- they may grow like weeds. Then bow the stems which are too long into the framework, or cut them off on a regular basis. (I use gloves, then it's no problem.)
* As they come from the forest, I gave them standard soil & added a bit of orchid soil. Plus I water them pretty much during growing season, compared to other cacti.

What I did wrong:
In the beginning, I just created a two-dimensional lattice. That became too instable after a couple of years, I had to do something pretty fast. Then we decided on building a three-dimensional lattice around the old one, stabilising the whole plant + structure. The bamboo is holding very well, it is light & strong.
But the links between them are crucial: Take care to take a very strong cord & make very tough links, winding it around a couple of times, with strong knots. Then the bamboo will not slip.
N.

[nachtkrabb]

...your flowers really are a bliss.

[NCRAS]

Great advice. Thank you. I have reached out to try and obtain a few plants. I have several areas where I would like to grow this particular cactus.

[Mrs.Green]

...got it finally. Our thread was https://cactiguide.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=388634, please check out the flowers etc. there if familiar. That is a Sel. coniflorus and looks close enough to your plant. (Mine hasn't flowered yet.)

DaveW gave me this link to the original "key to species" (ie. decision tree) of Britton & Rose. It holds all Selenicereus which had been known then. Please walk through that, and I do hope you will find your plant.

Good luck with your search
Nachtkrabb
.
.
We have started to give our Selenicereus "Bamboo Palaces" to climb. I have the idea that they somehow sense that and grow harder & try it out.
photo_2021-06-17_19-15-08-Königin.jpg

Wow…! That’s an impressive size for an indoor plant!

[anttisepp]

I have limited space and have to move the entire collection twice a year, so I often tie the stems of grandiflorus and macdonaldiae together in a modest bundle. (Each separately )