Night Blooming Flowers!
A list of 10 of the most fragrant and aesthetically pleasing night blooming flowers to begin your garden.
Flowers play a very vital role in our lives. This is something you must have experienced from famous poets to legendary artists.
That is why, in every beautiful landscape as well as lawns, you will never miss flowers.
Actually for ages now, flowers are the one thing that has inspired the way humans perceive the beauty of nature.
Needless to say, flowers also help to improve the natural aesthetics of our environment and in other cases can be used for decor purposes too.
Well, nothing can be more comforting than sitting in a moonlit garden full of sweet fragrant night blooming flowers.
How peaceful can this be especially after a long day at work?
If this is exactly the experience you are looking for, then here are top 10 night blooming flowers that will make your nights by the patio breath-taking.
Table of Contents
10 Most Beautiful Night Blooming Flowers
⦁ Evening Primrose
Scientific name: Oenothera biennis
Evening primrose
The evening primrose is one of the many night blooming flowers that is best known to bloom close up early in the morning or late at night.
When the flower is undergoing the blooming process, it produces a strong fragrance that helps to attract night moths and insects that aid in its pollination.
The evening primrose flower is native to North America. However, over the past few years, the plant has been transported to Australia, Asia and Europe.
Today this flower is known all over the world and is famous for its aesthetic value.
The plant of the evening primrose could grow up to 3 or 5 feet tall during the months of August and July.
You will find that this flower blooms mostly in summer and spring.
The flower will open up late in the afternoon then close as soon as when the sun is up. Being a biennial plant, the evening primrose completes its life cycle within 2 years.
⦁ Night Gladiolus
Scientific name: Gladiolus tristis
If you live in areas that receive high rainfall, then this is the flower for you.
This flower will majorly do well in areas that experience very high rainfall and has dense vegetation.
In most cases, you will find this follower growing in clusters.
The flowers are light yellow in color while the petals have some unique brown streaks.
The Night Gladiolus flowers will bloom in spring as well as summer. The general height of the Night Gladiolus flower is about 45 inches.
In Latin, the word gladiolus stands for the sword which is quite symbolic for its poisonous leaves that are responsible for causing mild irritation to the skin of humans.
Normally, this poison is a way of deterring the predators from consuming this flower.
Besides that, this flower has a sweet and pleasant smell that attracts butterflies and bees to aid in pollination.
The preferred natural setting of this flower makes it evident that sunlight has very little to do with the well being of this flower.
Hence, a suitable night blooming flower for anyone who lives in a location the receives little sunlight.
Four O Clocks
⦁ 4 O’clock Flower
Scientific name: Mirabilis jalapa
4 O’clock Flower
Yercaud-elango [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]
You are probably wondering, why 4 o’clock flower?
Well, this flower is typically named this way after the time that it blooms.
This flower blooms during the evening hours then it remains open the rest of the night.
However, as soon as the day dawns, this flower closes up.
This flower comes in a wide array of colors which range from yellow, white, purple, red, pink and blue.
The 4 o’clock flower is the spring blooming type. 4 O’clock flowers have a very sweet and pleasant smell.
This is one of the most popular night blooming flowers for its varied colors and sweet fragrance.
Actually, most people regard it as one of the most gorgeous night blooming flowers of all time.
The flower produces some huge seeds that make the whole planting as well as the germination process of this plant a breeze.
The plant germinates fast and could grow up to about 4 feet tall.
This plant prefers being grown in full sun although still, it has no issue with partial shade.
To boost the productivity of this flower, you can add some fertilizers at least two times a month. You will indeed love the results.
⦁ Nottingham Catchfly
Scientific name: Silene nutans
The Nottingham catchfly is a wildflower that is majorly found in the rocky hillside ridges and banks of the Southern part of Finland.
This flower was named after the famous Nottingham palace.
The flower has a catchy yellowish-white flower. In the United States of America, it is referred to as the Eurasian catchfly.
This flower will bloom mostly between the months of June, July.
During the day. This flower remains closed although it closes in the evening and later at night.
The Nottingham catchfly has 5 yellowish-white petals in each flower.
Also, they have some hairy leaves. For the purposes of pollination, these flowers produce a strong scent that helps to attract insects and moths.
You will notice that this flower is most attractive during twilight.
As soon as it starts blooming it does so for 3 consecutive nights. In that, each night, this flower opens up new stamen in order to increase chances of pollination.
Moon Garden Flowers
⦁ Dutchman’s Pipe Cactus
Scientific name; Epiphyllum oxypetalum
This flower is native to Latin countries of Brazil and Mexico in the Southern part of America.
The plant of this flower will grow up to 20 feet which is an equivalent to 6.1 m.
This plant is also known as Night Blooming Cereus. And as the name suggests, this plant is a member of the cactus family.
The Dutchman’s Pipe Cactus is mainly found in the Arizona and Mexico desert.
This is one of the few night-blooming flowers that will bloom for only one night per year.
The blooming occurs mostly between June and July. After it has occurred, the flower wilts and withers away then dies.
However, during the blooming process, the flower produces a sweet fragrance that attracts moths and bats that aid in its pollination.
Ranked among the top most beautiful night blooming flowers.
That’s because it has large white flowers that can bloom up to 17 centimeters during summer.
The flower opens up in the evening then lasts all night long then closes up in the morning.
⦁ Tropical Night Blooming Water Lilies
Scientific name: Nymphaeaceae spp.
The mere presence of the tropical night blooming water lilies will literally put you in a happy mood all day.
Not only do these flowers have a gorgeous look but the night blooming water lilies contain a fragrance like no other.
The night blooming water lilies are tropical flowers and they grow in November or December.
On the other hand, around July, the flowers switch to dormancy.
At this period, they will lose all their leaves.
The best part about this night-blooming flower is that they are unique. What’s more, the night blooming water lilies generally flower all through the night.
That is, they open at around 6 p.m. and close at around 10 a.m.
The leaves of the night blooming water lilies have distinct serrated edges.
They can also grow to large size given that you provide them with the right amount of sunlight, fertilizer and room.
The plants are also able to hold their fragrance high up on the water and they are typically available in a range of different colors.
If you want the best performance from the night blooming water lilies, you will need to have at least two-gallon plant container with a generous amount of heavy soil.
This will allow them to have strong and steady growth.
You should also ensure the water temperature is at least 60 degrees before you get to planting.
Moon Flowers
⦁ Moonflower
Scientific name: Datura inoxia
Moonflower
Moonflowers are a good addition to any night garden.
With their powerful fragrance and incredible beauty, I guarantee you that your garden will be spectacular.
Moonflowers have large, heart-shaped leaves that tend to grow robust vines.
These vines will definitely need a large trellis to give them enough support.
The distinctive white color flowers come in a trumpet-shaped figure and are about 6 inches wide and 6 inches long.
These magnificent flowers unfurl when the sun goes down and also during cloudy days.
That makes them the perfect flowers for your outdoor eating area or even near your bedroom window.
They will be able to sweeten the night air wherever they are placed.
This flower can easily tolerate different soil types and pH, but it will do well in nutrient-rich loam soil.
When the plant is young, you will have to water them regularly until they are able to establish themselves.
However, you should also note that the moonflower, is highly toxic when ingested.
It can cause high body temperature, bizarre behavior, and dilated pupils among others when injected.
Therefore, it is important to keep it out of reach from children.
⦁ Casablanca Lily
Casablanca lily
Sid Mosdell from New Zealand [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)]
Often used in weddings and by the florist, the Casablanca lily is a large white with an amazing fragrance flower.
Casablanca lily has vigorous growth and work well as cut flowers.
These lilies are quite easy to grow in any garden.
The only thing you need to remember is that they like their heads under the sun and their feet in a bit of shade.
The Casablanca Lily is an expensive flower and can be found in the Lilium Genus which has over 110 different species.
On top of that, this flower comes in different shades which include, orange, pink, yellow and purple.
If you want your garden to look like a splash of paint, then you should try planting all the different colors of the Casablanca lily.
If you want to ensure that the Casablanca lily has a bit of shade on its feet, then you should consider planting them next to shrubs and other plants.
The most common mistake that you are likely to make accidentally is not planting the lilies deep enough.
Flowers That Bloom At Night
⦁ Brahma Kamal
Scientifically known as Saussurea obvallata
The Brahma Kamal is found in the Himalayas, India and China.
Believed to bring fortune and good luck, this beautiful night blooming flower is one of the rarest kind on the planet.
Tales have it that this shimmering flower emerged from Vishnu’s navel. That is why the flower only blooms once a year.
The Brahma has white star-like flowers that come with a lovely fragrance. This fragrance helps their pollinators locate the flowers when they blossom at night.
As a night blooming flower, the Brahma Kamal starts to bloom at 7 p.m. onward.
It will take close to two hours to fully bloom and remain open throughout the night.
The flower is named after Brahma, the God of creation. This flower is considered to be sacred by the natives and is treated as such.
The flower grows in a mountainous environment and cold areas.
Actually, the flower heads have a purple color that’s enclosed in layers of yellow and greenish cover papery in nature.
⦁ Mock Orange
Scientific Name: (Philadelphus spp.)
Mock orange will easily brighten your moon garden.
The name gives you the suggestion that this plant is orange.
Well, the mock orange is not a true orange.
However, the plant has a citrus smell that’s enough to invite a sense of comparison to the orange and hence its name.
So remember that not to confuse this plant with the Mexican orange blossom.
The mock orange is at its most attractive state during spring.
The best part about this plant is that it has very fragrant flowers.
It can grow as a shrub or vines then trained to grow along the wall or even fence.
The flowers of this plant happen to be about one inch wide.
The leaves on the other hand have pointed ovals that usually drop during falls.
When they mature, they tend to grow up to 12 feet in height and width.
Additionally, these night blooming flowers do best in soils that have a good drainage.
They also have a slight tolerance for acidity but can also do well in neutral soils.
You should note that these night blooming flowers need pruning as soon as the flowers finish blooming.
This will help them improve the overall shape of the entire plant while at the same time preventing the bushes from being too thick.