The Pitahaya flower

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Avatar for gertu13
2 years ago

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 all my commenter friends, the ones who vote, the ones who sponsor me.

I’m @gertu13 from Venezuela to the world

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2 years ago

Comments

I could remember i used to see this cactus called Hylocereus Undatus in my agriculture science textbook, there was even a day, i checked the internet to see the bigger picture, sincerely, it's really a beautiful flower, and i love it. I'm looking to planting it in my environment very soon to daily behold its beauty.

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2 years ago

I hope you make it. It doesn't bloom all the time and the cactus is not pretty at all but all cacti have their particular beauty.

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2 years ago

Wow, this cactus has pretty flowers. There is not the case for me to see cactuses very often especially beautiful ones like this.

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2 years ago

Thank you very much for the compliment, you are welcome back.

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2 years ago

What a lovely plant and flowers. I'll be very happy to have them in my garden. 🥰😍

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2 years ago

It´s very good.

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2 years ago

The flower looks really beautiful, and I like the white petals too. I does look big though.

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2 years ago

yes, it's cute.

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2 years ago

The flower on this cactus is very beautiful. I have cactus as well but they're very tiny and at risk of sounding very dumb, I honestly didn't know they flowered.

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2 years ago

I have cacti up to 5 cm that bloom. I have many cacti and succulents.

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2 years ago

Most persons in Nigeria don't have a liking for the catcus flower maybe because of the much care it requires to grow but in all, I can see that it's quite beautiful

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2 years ago

I don't care about it because I don't even put water in it, only rainwater.

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2 years ago

I love that flower 🌹

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2 years ago

Thanks.

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2 years ago

Only cactus is found here. Other three plants are rare in my country. Cactus mostly grow here in desert. You clicked them in nice way. Looking forward for more good result of flowers.

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2 years ago

These are the ones that are blooming, I will publish my green plants.

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2 years ago

Sure, I shall wait for them so Hurry up.

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2 years ago

Your garden must be filled with so many flowers. Especially the ones I don't know much about.

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2 years ago

Yeah, I don't think you plant any trees at home lol.

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2 years ago

What a beautiful plant with unique biological features. While in high school, I was taught that there are some plants that exhibit negative phototropism ( growing in opposite direction to the sun). Never knew I would have ever seen one. Thanks ma'am

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2 years ago

The flower grows against the sun but the plant needs sun to fruit. It is one of the strange things in nature.

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2 years ago

I like this beautiful flower friend

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2 years ago

Thank you.

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2 years ago

I have already become acquainted with this flower. And I also took pictures of this flower. Many of our villagers have cultivated this fruit. Everyone in our village knows it as a dragon fruit.

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2 years ago

Ah how nice, and this is the first time I've seen it.

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2 years ago

Been seeing that.. So that's the name of this flower

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2 years ago

Yes my friend, it is called pitahaya, pitaya or dragon fruit.

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2 years ago

This is why i say i need a place of my own where i can create a small garden to house all this beautiful plants. This one looks so amazing, its flower looks huge and blooming.

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2 years ago

It's very cuty.

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2 years ago

I've tried a couple of times planting this, cos I heard and read it produces the dragon fruit, and it's quite edible, but on numerous occasions it had being ruined by Thrips and Ants. It's quite astonishing seeing you've it, anyways I guess it is very suitable grown in North America.

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2 years ago

This cactus grows in tropical climates and also grows in Africa.

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2 years ago

I saw this flower, but I didn't know its name.

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2 years ago

Very good!

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2 years ago