Cactus selenicereus is a common houseplant. The only feature is the appearance of large buds with a strong aroma for one night. You rarely see him in Russia, which may be why the description of the plant and methods of cultivation are of genuine interest. It is noteworthy that the inhabitants call this indoor flower "Queen of the Night."
What does selenitereus look like
Selenicereus Queen of the Night is a representative of the Cactus family. The culture is interesting for its aerial roots located on the thinnest shoots-lashes. Due to them, the plant is attached to any supports. 12 m long shoots in diameter do not exceed 3 cm.
Queen of the night
Common varieties
At home, the following varieties are most often found:
- Large-flowered (Selenicereus grandiflorus)
Selenicereus is large-flowered, it is also known as grandiflorus with multifaceted, slightly curly stems, up to 3 m long. A dark green shade with a light silver tone of the branches attracts attention, on the shoots there are thorns that disappear when the plant grows.
Buds of yellow-cream tone with a diameter of 27-30 cm have a sweet-vanilla aroma. Flowers open for several hours, with a favorable regime, the culture blooms several times during the season.
- Anthony (Selenicereus anthonyanus)
Selenitereus antonianus, as it is called in Russia, is distinguished by a non-standard type of shoots that look like fish bones. The branches are flat, fleshy up to 15 cm wide, length - from 2 to 4 m, with an emerald green color. The buds are light in the middle and bright purple around the edges.
It is interesting! Contrary to the opinion of some inhabitants, the name of the Cactus family is written in Latin Cactaceae, but not Cactus.
- Hooked (Selenicereus hamatus)
On the entire surface of faceted stems with a bluish-green hue there are thorns resembling spurs.
Shoots grow up to 12 m, the buds have bright yellow stamens and a diameter of 20 to 25 cm.
- MacDonald (Selenicereus macdonaldiae)
Outwardly resembles Grandiflora (grandiflora). Differs in orange color of petals.
Mrs. MacDonald's Selenitereus is named after her because it was she who sent the species to the Royal Botanic Gardens (London).
- Validus (Selenicereus validus)
A classic variety with stems up to 0.7 m. The petals located inside the buds are painted white, and the outer ones are cream or brown.
- Vercla Selenicereus (Selenicereus wercklei)
It has buds with a diameter of up to 16 cm, with inner purplish-white and outer white-greenish petals.
Variety Macdonald (Selenicereus macdonaldiae)
Features of home flower care
Cactus is not often found in apartments because of the erroneous opinion about the complexity of care. Many flower growers are constantly engaged in the variety and do not consider it too capricious or demanding.
- Temperature
In the summer heat, the plant lives at a temperature of 20-25 degrees. In winter, he is moved to a cool room, with a temperature of 15-17 degrees.
Important! Culture negatively refers to drafts and sharp changes from cooling to heat. If the mode is not suitable, then it will reset all already formed buds. She will not be able to bloom normally.
- Lighting
Direct sunlight can not cause significant damage to the culture, most gardeners prefer to place pots on the south and southeast side.
- Watering
Humidification of the soil is required after drying of the upper layer of the substrate. Overfilling has a bad effect on the root system and can lead to its decay.
Watering is carried out with soft and settled water, with the addition of several granules of citric acid.
- Spraying
The variety does not need to spray the stems. When carrying out hygiene measures, its stems are washed with warm water or wiped with a damp cotton pad.
Validus (Selenicereus validus)
- Humidity
The culture grows and develops in an ordinary city apartment. She does not need humidifiers.
- Priming
The earth is enriched with mixtures for cacti and succulents, bought in a flower shop. At the bottom of the tank, drainage from finely broken brick or special expanded clay is laid.
Important! Prevention of root rot is carried out by adding crushed charcoal to the substrate.
- Top dressing
Accelerated growth requires a large amount of useful elements. Feeding is done three times a month, using universal solutions for cacti and succulents.
Features of winter care, rest period
After the arrival of November, the earth is moistened once every two weeks, the culture is prepared for rest.
From autumn to early spring, fertilizers are not used - the first top dressing is prescribed for March.
Important! After sending the selenitereus macdonald and his relatives to a cool room, they are watered monthly.
When and how it blooms
A tight tangle of whitish hairs is initially formed. 20 days after the start of the process, the top of the bud appears.
Important! One-day flowers do not survive until dawn, opening closer to dusk. This anomaly caused the name of the cactus selenitereus "Queen of the night."
Anthony (Selenicereus anthonyanus)
How selenitereus propagates
Breeding a plant involves the use of seed material or cuttings. The first option is used less often because of the difficulty of buying seeds.
Seed germination
The procedure requires the purchase of ready-made seed material of selenicereus in a flower shop. In the room, he almost never matures.
Seeds are immersed in a slightly moistened substrate to a shallow depth. After planting, the container is covered with plastic wrap or glass, kept in a room at standard temperature conditions. After the appearance of young shoots, the covering material is removed.
Rooting of the processes
Cuttings are considered the best option for propagating a flower. Long shoots are cut into small pieces, slightly dried and rooted in moist soil.
The box is covered with polyethylene or glass, regularly ventilated and watered. The best time for the procedure is considered the spring period. For it, only young shoots are taken - rooting of the old branches of the selenicereus is worse.
Important! Regardless of the method of reproduction, young growth develops actively and gives an increase in shoots up to several meters annually. In the fifth year, the plant produces the first buds and begins to bloom.
Transfer
Young individuals of selenicereus require transplantation work annually - they are carried out in the spring. Adult plants are replanted only after strong growth, when the initial pot becomes small.
Important! If it is not possible to transport culture to new containers, then annually it is necessary to replace the upper soil layers with fresh ones. The old soil is cleaned with the utmost accuracy, being careful not to damage the root system.
Fertilizer for selenicereus
Diseases and Pests
The description of the species says that the main problem during cultivation is the development of root rot due to excessive wetting of the earth. The problem is solved by reducing the frequency of irrigation.
Of the pests of the cactus, a spider mite and a scab are isolated. After the detection of parasites, the cactus needs to be treated with insecticides.
Cactus selenitereus, which blooms several times during the season, requires topical supervision. Violation of the rules of watering can cause the death of a cactus. But if everything is done correctly, an unusual exot will definitely please the owner.
