Plant ID Please!!

[The Mustard Seed Gardener]

Hi everyone,

I've been trying to post a photo for a long time now...no go! I just can't seem to make it work. Finally, I decided to change my avatar and put in the flower in it's place. Please check it out...maybe someone will know the name?
The avatar is the flower and my 6 year old granddaughter. The flower is about the size of her head! It blooms once a year in August. After the flower is completely open it stays for 24 hours...that's it.
This plant was given to me while we were living in California some years back. It grows outside in southern Cal. It has a tendril of a sort, so it can stick to a wall. There are 2 different plants in this pot. One grows the pink/red flowers and the other is the same...but white. It has thick, fleshy leaves. Some sort of christmas cactus?
I was given the plants name, but lost the paper when we relocated back to Washington state.
PLEASE help me solve this mystery!?
p.s. it roots easily and it grows nice flowers long as it is a little pot bond. Thanks in advance! Chris

 

[poppycat]

From your description it sounds like Night Blooming Cereus, except for the pink flower part. My dad had a couple, a few years back, but they bloomed white. They smelled fantastic though!

 

[The Mustard Seed Gardener]

The white one does bloom at night...the red one blooms for 24 hrs after it is fully opened. Thanks for the name of the white one...I wonder if the red one has same name?

 

[Greensage45]

Hi,

It has been a while since this post was created. I have always adored this plant you are referring to. It is not a cereus though, but is instead called an Epiphyllum.

Here is a site to behold: http://www.epies.net/

How I heard the story was the creator was a recluse and did not let anyone know of his cultivations. It was after his death that someone happened upon his creations and it is fortunate that his collection was taken over by serious growers and subsequently today we have such a fascinating array of colors. Bless him for his contribution.

A Night Blooming Cereus is a spiney cactus from the desert. http://www.desertusa.com/mag99/july/papr/nbcereus.html

I adore Epiphyllums

Take Care, Ron