PlantFiles: Apple Cactus, Peruvian Apple, Hedge Cactus, Peruvian Tree Cactus
Cereus repandus

I live in Florida and my Cereus Peruvianus is about 25 feet tall. This year evidently due to all the rain my cactus is about to bloom for the third time this year and this time it will have at least 100 blooms hopefully all within a few days time. I am considering calling the newspaper to see if they want a picture of it. Is this unusual to have this many blooms at once?

The plant was in the garden when I bought the house. Someone cutted the catus across many years ago and still it grew back. It is 15 feet tall and I estimate 30-40 years.
It is extremely beautyfull at blossom (as said here, only one night long). Gets full of bees at dusk (now late summer here in Buenos Aires: 34° lalitude South, 17°C mean temperature, 1000mm annual rainfall, some frost days a year).

I bought this cactus at a Tucson nursury in early June and planted it next to the front porch of our house. It was already three feet tall. During the first summer, it didn't grow any taller but it did put out a large number of flowers, each of which opened for only one night, turning black and falling off in the next day's sunshine. This plant seems to do very well in the Tucson climate.

I started with a 5' specimen of this cactus 3 years ago. It grew to about 10 feet that year, and the beginning of next spring I cut it into 14 section between 2' and 4' each. Despite having a rough start (many of the ridge edges browned and fell off, leaving less pronounced ridges), they have all taken, giving me a nice natural fence which is blooming 4-10 flowers on each plant. I have about 20 or so fruits that look like they are nearly ripe now, was wondering if there is anything special I should do before eating? Very fun cactus to watch growing, and the blooms are awesome, short-lived though they are

I've had my potted cereus rapandus since 1998. The winters here in Kansas City are too harsh of course to allow me to leave it out past frost but it has done extraordinarily well growing to 6 feet on the patio. It has flowered now for the second year. This year it put on 6 flowers, blooming the night of July 3rd into the 4th in a spectacular display!

I live in the Mojave, Zone 8a. I grow these in pots, as they must be brought in during the winter for frost protection. They love the hot summers here, requiring little water or care. Great flowers in late summer, draws a lot of giant black bumblebees!!!

One source states that this is probably native to the western Caribbean and Venezuela. The fruit & stems are edible. This cactus is cultivated for living fences, furniture, soap substitutes and firewood.

Additional valid synonyms are:
Cactus peruvianus
Cactus repandus
Cephalocereus atroviridis
Cephalocereus remolinensis
Cereus margaritensis var. micracanthus
Pilocereus atroviridis
Pilocereus remolinensis
Pilocereus repandus
Pilocereus russelianus subsp. margaritensis
Piptanthocereus peruvianus
Subpilocereus atroviridis
Subpilocereus grenadensis
Subpilocereus margaritensis
Subpilocereus remolinensis
Subpilocereus repandus
Subpilocereus repandus subsp. micracanthus
Subpilocereus russelianus var. margaritensis

It holds up to freezing temperatures much better than I anticipated. It was uncovered through at least a week's worth of freezing nights (independently), and suffered minimal damage. The only parts that actually froze were new arm buds that hadn't had a chance to harden. Several people have it growing in their yards here. Does best in a protected southern position.

hello everybody, i am new to this site.
i just have bought this cactus 5 days ago. when i bought it, it already had two buds on there, ready to bloom.
does anyone know how long it takes from bud to bloom? it would be really awesome if anyone could help. thanks a lot everyone

I thought I'd lost this one years ago and in clearing debris from old greenhouse area, there it was still going strong and absolutely COVERED in apples. Can limit height growth by keeping it in a small pot, I've discovered. Can't wait to see what it does when I put it in the ground.

Large, green, slightly knobby, branching tall columnar cactus from South America (or maybe West Indies- origin not really clear).

This plant is a no brainer for most living in the sunbelt. Its only drawback is the spectacular flowers open at dusk and die before noon the next day, so to see them at their best you have to view them at night or in the very early a.m. The fruit is better than the "cactus apple" of the opuntia if only because it has no spines and can be eaten out of hand. It is called "pitaya" but it is not as tasty as the fruit of hylocereus undata, which is also called "pitaya."

Grows very well a a potted plant. As it gets taller, you can cut it back with a hand saw, and the plant will send out branches. Loves warmth and full sun. Will bloom in the house (at least for me). Blooms at night. Each blossom is only open for one night.

From England - I have a 'monstrosa' version of this plant, 500cm. tall which suffered severe damage when the greenhouse temperature dropped below 4 degrees C last winter. [I cut the top off which was undamaged and it rooted ok]