The Pitahaya flower
This flower belongs to a cactus named Hylocereus Undatus. This cactus has been one of the plants that I have always wanted to have, ever since I saw the fruit that the cactus produces in a documentary, I fell in love with it.
The truth is that I unintentionally knew that I already had this plant. A friend of mine gave me a small piece of it two years ago and told me that when it bloomed it would give me beautiful flowers.
I accepted it and planted it next to another of my large cacti, the Opuntia Nopal. There the cats that often come to my garden destroyed it all the time. A year went by and the plant went from one side of the floor to the other pulled by the cats. I still didn't know what a treasure I had.
One day the lady who gave me the piece of cactus called me and sent me her photos of the flower. I liked it very much and I immediately started to find out which tree it belonged to and it was then when I discovered that it was the Hylocereus cactus I was looking for. I had it for more than 1 year and did not know what it was.
Since then, I moved it and put it near my banana plants and there the cats never touched it again. It grew and grew and now it is a full-grown plant.
This plant has, in addition to its terrestrial roots, aerial roots with which it attaches itself to other surfaces and entangles itself to them. It is a plant that could be considered epiphytic because its roots are attached to many surfaces. Mine is in a place where its branches can protect with its thorns the entrance of my house.
Two days ago, I saw its flower and started to take as many pictures as I could. From the time I first saw her until yesterday she bloomed overnight. Needless to say, she scented my whole garden that's why I know she belongs to the yellow pitahya. In the morning she starts her normal involution cycle to continue her development to fruit if she was pollinated.
The literature says that it is more aromatic than the red pitahaya. So, my desire to have a pitahaya plant has been fulfilled. What I am not so sure about is if it will form fruit. I know there are bats around here but I don't know if they saw it and pollinated it.
I still have a way of uncertainty with my plant but the best thing is happening and it is the beauty of its flower and something that impressed me is its inebriating aroma.
It is a plant that grows a lot in mountain areas and tropical climates. It’s abundant in my country but I know that it is also found in many countries with a similar climate. It’s estimated that its origin is in Central America and southern countries.
I was also able to know that this plant resists both a climate of direct sun and semi-shade. I planted my plant in semi-shade, it gets a few hours of sun in the morning and then it gets a lot of shade.
The flower also has its own way of growing, when I saw it for the first time, I realized that it does not face the sun but on the opposite side it looks for the shadow or the moon's gaze. This way the flower does not burn when separating its green petals that form the outside. Inside you can see many white petals with several long yellow pistils. The flower measures approximately 30cm.
In some countries it is considered an invasive plant. It does not need much care to thrive. Sow in a substrate with abundant organic matter and good soil drainage. It can also grow in pots placing a tutor to hold on to it while it is transplanted to a more suitable place for its size. It can grow up to 1 meter. If you lengthen its branches of course it roots and keeps multiplying its length, my plant is about two meters long.
It is a long-lived plant, it is perennial. It can be reproduced by seeds. I reproduce it by small stems. I already have two to wait to grow in the conditions of the same mother.
For now, this is all I can tell you about my plant and my Hylocereus flower.
Thanks to this community of cactus, succulent and caudiform plant lovers.
