Xuan, she's beautiful. Mine bloomed 2 nights ago!

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I didn't stay awake long enough to enjoy the fragrance, sorry to say. It's a shame they just bloom once.

As long as we're showing non-amaryllis. Here's a treat for the Northerners...a bit of the tropics.

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My Raja Puri banana is birthing bunches of babies!

Oh... wow... I like your banana 'bloom'. I have bananas planted in my tropical garden too and each time we have a 'bloom', DH makes a "traditional" dish with it! Love it, both the dish and his doing the cooking!

Yeah, it's a shame that the night blooming cactus blooms have such short life, and in the dark too! In the past, I never cut the blooms to bring inside but this time the mother plant is performing poorly and may perish soon so I just cut off the bloom to enjoy it inside. I have started another plant from this mother but the baby is still young to have blooms.

Thanks for sharing, Cindee. BTW, please pass on my regards to Dennis.

Xuan

Xuan, thanks so much! Dennis is doing much better. His final chemo is wearing off and he has the appetite of a horse! He made his famous BBQ ribs today, slow cooked all day and the garlic sweet BBQ aromas was making me drool. He has a secret recipe for his sauce. It is very sweet-smokey to the taste but burns on you after a bit with just the right bite of spicyness. He also made coleslaw (like his mom used to make with sour cream, mayo and dill) I contributed my Dad's Italian tomato salad. Sweet and juicy Compari tomatoes, bell peppers vidalia onion chopped fresh basil(from my garden-my tomatoes are done for summer) all sprinkled with salt, pepper and drizzled with oil. YUM-we all ate like piggies!

You must tell me your husbands banana recipes. I am looking for uses once these ripen. All I have is my Mom's old time Fannie Farmer Banana-Nut bread recipe!

I never thought of cutting the cereus blooms and bringing inside!! What a great idea. Where did you cut the flower? Or did you just cut a portion of the plant since it is ailing?
My friend MsMarion, who has visited here before, gave me the cutting. I must be doing something right since I have had it less than a year and it bloomed. She has had her plant for 2 years and NO blooms.

Hihihi, Cindee, I'll just ask DH for the precise recipe. But I'm not sure if it's something you guys would enjoy! Anyway, it won't hurt to try, yeah? Dennis cooking sounds so yummy I'm licking my lips ... hahaha!

The blooms on the night cactus always hang downward and then upward again to bloom. I must cut the whole leaf bearing the bloom and then stick the leaf into a coke pet bottle to hold the bloom the way it'd be held onto the plant. That was why I never cut the bloom before... but I guess you can always stick the leaf back into the pot for rooting after the bloom finishes, which I did this morning.

You have certainly done something right, maybe leaving it in full sun, maybe withholding water a few months before and now it has enjoyed the rain. Normally, my cactus blooms after the dry season ends and a few thunderstorms have started. Some years in the past I had more than 30 blooms all at once, on this one cactus!!! But it has been declining, perhaps, due to poor drainage. It's in a big pot and I haven't repotted in maybe at least 8 years!

Xuan

Cindee, I bring up my Epiphyllum blooms for close-up enjoyment, too - just twist off the blooms at the joint with the leaf/stem. No need to put them in water even. I leave them on a little stand by the front door. On cool days, they outlast the length of time they typically bloom in the greenhouse.

By the way, would you PLEEEEEEEEASE please let me have your coleslaw recipe? It sounds wonderful. I absolutely adore the stuff, and I cannot find a recipe that tastes right.

Off to my first Fourth of July fireworks as an American!

Thanks Xuan and Wilde...The recipe Wilde?? OH BOY, I will have to get Dennis to tell me how he makes it! I prefer my slaw more dry than his. But he and his grown kids love the one he makes. I'll see if he can "kinda" tell me how he makes it! Happy 4th! I just watched an amazing display put on by my neighbors a few streets over. About 3-4 yrs ago one guy started it all. Now it's like 5 very different displays of fireworks all within a few 100 feet of each other. My neck is sore looking left-center-left-right-center-left-center-right!! The original guy really has it down. All this, a cold beer, no admission and free from mosquitos on my pool lanai....PRICELESS! GOD BLESS AMERICA, again!!

What beautiful sensual messages on this post! My mind is reeling form the fragrance of the night bloomer and my tastebuds are salivating at the thought of Dennis's barbecue!

Keep it up!

MY days are currently filled with roses or every kind. WIll do a flower show for you one of these days soon.

We had a lovely traditional family picnic potluck for the 4th...interesting mixture of cousines! EVerything from tender juicy home fried chicken like we ate when we were kids, to cold Kentucky fried, still in the carton, Zach and I did a beautiful marinated grilled sock-eye salmon, a non traditional potato, pea and asparagus salad tangy with lemon juice and vinegar and herbs, and a salad made of dry beans and herbs, topped off with a good old fashioned pineapple upside down cake. A lot of work, but a good way to cellebrate a special day with family!

We took our little Josie puppy along to the family picnic and she was a very good girl, and much admired. She has doubled in size the month we have had her home, but still fits in my lap. Not too much longer though for this simple pleasure!

Wow! I'm getting dizzy here, folks!

First, what amazing pictures of the night blooming cacti! Xuan, your photos are wonderful... I can almost smell the perfume! And, Cindee... yours is gorgeous, too! The close-ups show quite a complex looking flower... do you guys ever try pollinating them?

Cindee, those bananas are awesome! I've never seen a banana tree close up, and how it actually grows its fruit! It's very interesting! I used to have a recipe for Banana Cake that was sort of like a banana pound cake... very moist, and I used a bundt pan to bake it in... I'll have to see if I can locate that... and Dennis' bbq sauce and cole slaw sound positively yummy! I'm salivating here!

I'm so glad Dennis is feeling better, and is enjoying a hearty appetite! Summer is the time for wonderful food flavors fresh from the gardens! We're picking pea pods, green beans and broccoli! Yum! And there's fresh cilantro and other herbs to use!

Like Lizalily, I'm enjoying wonderful rose blooms... and we just got in an order of climbing roses, including New Dawn, Joseph's Coat and White Iceberg! The minis are all blooming, and in a few years, these new climbers will be knockouts, like the roses blooming now!

Lizalily, I'm happy to hear that Josie is doing well... photos, please! I'd love to see how she looks now that she's growing so much! She has to be quite the cutie-pie!

I'm glad that I have a good imagination... this thread is loaded with sights and smells and tastes... I'm hungry just thinking about bbq ribs and cole slaw and banana cakes and breads... and the pineapple upside down cake sounds delicious!

Since we just had the wedding with the huge party, we opted for a quiet 4th of July... Larry and I drove down the road for a better view of the local fireworks, and then went to town for burgers... it was fun, and brought back a lot of memories of taking the kids to see fireworks when they were little!

Wow! I'm happy to hear that everyone is having a good summer, and had a nice 4th of July! Let the good times roll!

Xuan...Your night blooming cactus brings back so much fond memories in me. When I was a child, my grandmother grew one of this in our backyard. It seemed like a huge plant then and yes it does opens it's flowers at night. I think her's was more double and pink colored and the flower was like the size of a salad plate. We called it "Cinderella Plant". :-)

Cindee...Your pics of your tropical plants ALWAYS makes me "home sick". We have a dish in the PI were you can cook this banana flowers with pork and coconut milk. Yummy!!! There, the banana flower to be cooked is not allowed to open up. It is cut up while it is still in bud form.

Jodi...you made me think of "It's a BOONT-T-T-T cake?" From my Big Fat Greek Wedding. I cannot look at a Bundt pan without seeing that woman try to help her pronounce "bundt" And there is the Aunt's line "What you mean he don't eat meat??? That's OK I make Lamb!"" Lol sorry for this, I love that crazy movie and will stay up late if it is on. I have to stuff a pillow in my face so my laughing doesn't wake Dennis or Dan...can you tell I am enjoying myself here?? BOOnt-t-t-t-t

Hahaha! I must admit, that WAS a funny movie! If it will help keep down the laughter, we can call it a spring form pan, like my Mom used to use! But her old spring form pan always leaked batter in the oven, even if lined and heavily greased and floured, and it left a burnt mess to clean up! I splurged, and bought a really nice teflon booondt pan! Cakes and breads slip right out, and bake perfect every time!

Maria, I thought that some of our new Daylily flowers were HUGE, but I can just imagine what a night blooming cactus flower the size of a dinner plate would look like! Wow! They are amazing plants with AMAZING flowers!

I love those shaped Bundts - years ago, I found a wreath-shaped one that makes a great holiday cake. The form is coated, but there is so much detail, I also use Baker's Joy to be on the safe side. Haven't tried to decorate the cakes yet, but they are really pretty even without decoration.

I feel like sharing a few pics of night blooming cactii grown by me. The first three pics were made when the guests in my daugther's birthday witnessed opening and closing of white flowers. The last two pics were taken by bringing another big cactus indoor.
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With all the talk about the Night Blooming Cereus, had to run out to check mine. Nope! Not tonight, but I think for sure tomorrow night. It has a bunch of buds. It's not all that large, or that old, but sure puts out the blooms. I wintered mine in my little greenhouse, and brought it out in early may. It's been in a lot of sun, perhaps even too much, but it has been putting forth the buds. Oh, and in keeping with the forum, I have a couple Ami blooms to photograph.

Till tomorrow, with pictures,
Kitty

sarmadsaeed - your photographs are beautiful! Lovely detail. I love the interesting shape to the cactus in the frist photos!

Beautiful photos... all of them! What a sight to witness... cacti that only bloom at night!

It will be a while before my little cutting reaches blooming size, but I anticipate seeing the blooms in person one day!

Wowww... very pretty pics, Xuan, it is easy for cutting leaf for that cactus? My mother have it and I want try to rooting them while I'm visit my parents (in Indonesia) next Dec. Sarmassaeed, I never see cactus like that, very pretty.
Cindeea, my favourite banana recipes are banana mffin, Indonesian banana fritters and banana foster
Here's for banana foster: 1/4 cup butter; 2/3 cup dark brown sugar; 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract; 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon; 3 bananas, peeled and sliced lengthwise and crosswise; 1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts; 3 1/2 tablespoons rum; 1 pint vanilla ice cream ::> In deep skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in sugar, rum, vanilla and cinnamon. When mixture begins to bubble, place bananas and walnuts in pan. Cook until bananas are hot, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove the banana pan from the heat, pour rum and continue to baste the banana slices with their sauce until the flames die down. Serve at once over vanilla ice cream. Eeemmm... very yummy !
Lisa

Oh Lisa, THANKS that Foster sounds YUMMY!! It also seems relatively simple. This is first I've seen it used with walnuts, I love nuts. I have created a file and am saving some of the recipes I am getting. YUM-O Thanks again.

All the Ephphilium plants I have, Lisa, are from cuttings. Just cut a piece and stick in moist cactus soil. They will root easily. Do not over water.

berkebun, it's very easy for me to root this kind of cactus: I just stick a piece of the leaf (not even the leaf, but a whole leaf is better) in the medium and alas... I'll have another cactus in no time. But of course my climate is hot and humid and that helps a lot in plant propagation.

Wishing you all the best.

Xuan

Xuan, thanks for your tips, seems like easy for rooting them, hope I can do it...
Cindeea, do you how long it'll start rooting?
I love nut too, my others best easy banana recipe if you want to try, it's taste like banana bundt cake at Starbuck = 1 (18 1/2 ounce) box spice cake mix (Duncan),
½ cup water, 1/3 cup vegetable oil, 3 large eggs, 3 medium-sized bananas, 1 cup walnut or pecan, chopped
=> Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, add the cake mix, water, oil and eggs, mixer for about one minute, at medium speed, add the mashed banana, again mix 1 more mnt at medium speed. Pour into the bunt pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until done.
Eeeem... I'm hungry now :0)
Lisa