Night-blooming plants

   Most plants bloom in daytime and many close at night. But night-blooming flowers open at night and close in bright sunshine. Most night-blooming flowers are of tropical origin. They are most often white and are usually very fragrant.
   The best known night-blooming plant is the night-blooming cereus. Its blooms are nearly a foot long and very fragrant. They are most beautiful after midnight, but they only open once and then wither.
   Other plants may bloom for several nights, as do the night jasmines. Many tropical plants will bloom for several nights, but they are not commonly cultivated. Some plants bloom during the latter part of the day but their flowers are at their finest at night, and they are most fragrant after sundown. Some flowers bloom during the day if the weather is cloudy and overcast.
   Plants belonging to the genus Nicotiana are the most outstanding of the hardy gar­den flowers that bloom after sunset and at night. They have clusters of sweet-smelling flowers that open in the evening or on sunless days. The easily raised evening primroses are also popular garden night-blooming plants. Others are evening campion, nightshade, evening star, evening stock, four-o-clock, night phlox, akebia quintas, gladiolus tristis, hemerocallis thunbergi, and hesperis.