I was lucky enough to see the elusive Queen of the Night cactus bloom last night! Tohono Chul gardens shot out a notice to members yesterday afternoon that the big moment would arrive in a few hours, based on daily observations by their garden manager. The park opened from 7-11 PM so we could marvel at this magical flower, which only blooms for one night of the year. They bloom en masse, although no one knows exactly how they signal each other.
The rest of the year they look like skinny grey sticks. Since the cactus cannot self-pollinate, the plants must bloom on the same evening to ensure pollination. The more blooms that are open, the greater the chances of pollination, usually by hawk moths.
They're in the far-flung scrubby desert on the edge of the park, so we were advised to bring flashlights to follow the gravel paths. Each plant that was set to bloom was lighted so we could find them, but as soon as the park closed the lights would go off so that moths could get down to their business of pollination.
The garden manager, with the rakish name of Jack Dash, gave an entertaining talk before we set out. He said he checks the plants every morning around this time of year, and when their buds go from hard to soft he knows they're ready to bloom. Then the park scrambles to get volunteers to help out and to send out notices to its members and the media for the big night. Thousands show up.
The white blooms are just exquisite and about as big as the palm of a hand. Jack said they give off a melon scent to attract the moths, although I couldn't smell it. They bloom around the same time as the Sacred Datura, which has much the same scent, so Dash speculated that this helps pull in more moths to pollinate both plants. After that one-night frenzy, the flowers wither soon after sunrise.
Tohono Chul, a non-profit botanical garden and nature preserve in Tucson, has the largest private collection of Peniocereus greggi, the Night Blooming Cereus, in the world. Some were planted by the staff and others grow naturally on the grounds. Native to Southwestern North America, they only reveal their spectacular flower in the heat of the early Tucson summer. And this past week it's reached 100 degrees here!
The queen also appears in this huge mural at Tohono Chul. That's me for size reference. The mural, "Twilight Sonoran" by Ignacio Garcia, was just dedicated this year. Its sign says:
"Twilight Sonoran is a mural that captures the breathtaking magic of the Sonoran Desert after dark -- through the eyes of its creatures. This mural is an invitation to step into an animal's perspective of the desert night, where late-summer monsoons roll across the horizon, stars shimmer in silence, and life glows softly beneath a moonlit sky. It explores the rarely seen beauty of the desert's nocturnal ecosystem. Twilight Sonoran is a visual poem in blue, glowing with quiet desert life, meant to calm, inspire, and connect -- a feeling that lingers like starlight."
Queen of the Desert flowers, saguaro cacti, a scorpion and lizard appear on the mural.
The night stroll did feel magical, with Venus and Jupiter above and saguaro cacti silhouetted against the deep blue sky. (Thanks to my friend Del for telling me which planets they are. I didn't have a clue.)
An agave stalk with its blooms glowed alongside globes that softly changed colors. It was a special experience and the first time I made it since I moved here six years ago.
Have a peaceful night
