ost people look for good luck symbols such as horseshoes and rabbit's feet. At Bronson Place, one of the two residences at The Glebe Centre long-term care facility, we however, look to our prized Queen of the Night plant. We are doubly lucky to have one of our very own residents, Mrs. Yuk Lan Joe, taking care of not only this plant, but of every plant on our second floor.
The Queen of the Night came to us from one of our Chinese resident's family and it was a new experience for most of us. The plant is a member of the cactus family and is very popular in Chinese custom because of the good luck it brings when it blossoms. In fact, families will invite friends and neighbors over for a party to watch it bloom!
It will only bloom at night, usually starting around 8 pm and continuing to open until it actually shakes and emits the most amazing fragrance. It will then start to close slowly and the whole process will be complete by 11 pm.
The Queen of the Night usuallyonly blooms once a year in late spring to early summer and the blossoms actually come right out of its leaves.
The leaves themselves have to be at least two to three years old before any flowers will appear. Once the blossom does appear it is very fragile, simply touching it will cause it to die!
The flowers themselves can be pure white to a pale pink. In Chinese custom, the flower can be used to make a soup with pork or it can be boiled with rock sugar for a treat! The Queen of the Night requires a lot of sun and tender loving care.
And that is just what Mrs. Joe makes sure it has. She gives exceptional care to each of our plants and the results are incredible. In fact, because of her care, our Queen of the Night has been blossoming once at least every 3 months and recently had three blossoms come out in one night!
This is very rare, but Mrs. Joe is sharing her secret with a few people! Those of us lucky enough to have a cutting of this plant hope we will be half as successful as she is! Everyone at Bronson Place is grateful for the special luck she helps bring us!