Cactus · Sonoran native
Night-Blooming Cereus
Peniocereus greggii · Cactaceae
Also called: Arizona Queen of the Night, Desert Night-blooming Cereus, Reina de la Noche, Saramatraca, Deerhorn Cactus
Night-Blooming Cereus (Peniocereus greggii) is a very low-water cactus native to the Sonoran Desert region well suited to Tucson and the low desert. It's a slow-growing cactus.
Night-Blooming Cereus at a glance
- Water use
- Very Low (established)
- Sun
- Naturally grows shaded under nurse plants; best in part shade or filtered light in Tucson, with protection from intense reflected afternoon sun.
- Mature size
- 2-5 ft H x 2-4 ft W (sprawling, sparse, twiggy gray-green stems; most of the plant's mass is a large below-ground tuberous root that can weigh many pounds)
- Growth rate
- Slow
- Bloom
- Large (up to ~3-4 in), waxy, intensely fragrant white flowers with brownish outer segments, Early summer (typically June), often a synchronized single-night bloom across many plants just before or with the monsoon; flowers open after dark and wilt by morning.
- Cold hardiness
- Hardy to the lower 20s F (about USDA zones 9-11); tuber gives some protection, but exposed stems are frost-sensitive.
- Soil
- Well-drained sandy or gravelly desert soil; the deep tuber requires soil that never stays waterlogged. Rots in heavy, wet ground.
- Native range
- Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts — Arizona, New Mexico, west Texas, and Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, and Zacatecas, Mexico; grows around Tucson in desert scrub, typically beneath nurse shrubs like creosote.
- Best used as
- Conservation / collector and heritage specimen, Night and fragrance gardens, Naturalistic plantings beneath nurse shrubs, Container culture (to showcase the once-a-year bloom), Pollinator and native-habitat gardens
- Wildlife
- The spectacular fragrant night flowers are pollinated chiefly by hawkmoths; the large red fruits are eaten by birds and mammals. An iconic native habitat species.
- Toxicity
- Non-toxic. Spines are small; the inconspicuous stems pose little hazard.
How to grow Night-Blooming Cereus in Tucson & the low desert
Watering
Extremely drought tolerant thanks to its water-storing tuber; rely on natural rainfall once established. Occasional deep water in extreme drought only; never keep the root zone wet, and withhold water in winter.
Fertilizer & nutrients
None required. If grown in a container, a very dilute low-nitrogen cactus fertilizer once in spring is sufficient.
Pruning & care
No pruning needed. Remove dead or frost-damaged stems cleanly; the inconspicuous stems naturally lean on or scramble through nurse shrubs.
Notes
Famously cryptic — its twiggy gray stems resemble dead creosote branches until the legendary once-a-year mass nocturnal bloom, celebrated each summer (e.g., Tohono Chul's 'Bloom Night'). A Sonoran Desert treasure; protected and slow to establish. Plant in dappled shade with a nurse plant and excellent drainage. Use nursery-propagated stock only.
Sources: Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (Peniocereus care sheet); University of Arizona Cooperative Extension / UA Campus Arboretum; Tohono Chul; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center