Seymour

click to enlarge

This is a night-blooming cereus named “Seymour” from “Little Shop of Horrors” fame. The carnivorous, alien plant in that show was always demanding, “Feed me, Seymour, feed me!”
I have found that with plenty of food and water, this erratically-foliaged plant almost has a mind all its own with its aggressive blooming tendencies. During blooming season, you can almost see and hear the flowers open right before your very eyes.

This plant is relatively easy to grow and yields spectacular blossoms. Its foliage grows in random directions with new shoots sprouting everywhere. It is reported that these plants can bloom with as many as seven to nine blossoms at one time.

My plant first bloomed with one magnificent blossom about 8 inches in diameter. To my surprise, later that same year, this pot-bound plant produced four more beautiful blossoms. The four flowers began unfurling about 7 p.m. one night and by 10 were fully open and gorgeous. By the next morning, the blossoms had closed up and were wilted. This usually happens only once a year, so if you blink, you just might miss its spectacular show.

Lois M. Kelly
Morehead City, Carteret-Craven Electric

top