Unfortunately I was not around to watch these buds open between midnight and two in the morning. It opens only once, after midnight, and closes when the sun comes up. It is well worth the effort to watch it open and smell its heavenly fragrance. The bloom is similar to a lotus blossom and about the size of a big saucer.
When I was growing up we would stay up at night to watch one bloom. Can you imagine a teenager doing that today. Maybe they should; it might be a gentler world (better get off my soapbox, again.)