Stapelia Variegata blooming

[Rico13]

Hello all , I have been waiting FOREVER, well, 2 years for this plant to bloom. The first year I had it, I was constantly monitoring it to see if it had any buds, it got one, but it dried up and fell off . This year I just set it on the deck, and forgot about it all summer. When I brought it back in, then it got a bud. It started inflating, but then it stopped growing for about a week, until under one day it popped open. It is a beautiful flower, besides the putrid odor (which I think is cool) . I heard the flower only lasts for a few days though, so I knew I had to get a picture quick. I hope you like it .

-rico

[TOMMYMIAMI]

Totally awesome! Have never even heard about this plant (I do hear only about orchids mostly)! Great job!

[Rico13]

The flowers are even textured roughly like rotting meat. The plant is naturally pollinated by flies, so it must seem very appetizing for them!

[RandomGemini]

That is COOL! That's a really gorgeous flower! I'm sorry about the smell, but I get it. For a flower like that, I'd put up with the gross odor for a few days!

[MrHappyRotter]

I love stapeliads, but as a group, I haven't had much luck with them. Congrats on the bloom.

I'm guessing they are either categorized as difficult to grow or easy to grow. I'm not quite skilled enough to grow difficult plants, and I'm cursed when it comes to the "easy" stuff. Give me a phal or an african violet, I seem to struggle with those. But anything that falls in the middle loves me.

Anyway, I agree ... I think the plants with weird scents are more interesting. Some of those stapeliads rival some of the stinkier bulbophyllums in terms of unpleasant scents. I remember a few years ago, I did something particularly mean. At the state fair, there was a very lovely stapelia in bloom. I talked some friends of mine into going to the greenhouse area with me. Knowing full well how the flower smelled, I bent over, pretended to take a huge whiff and exclaimed how intoxicating the fragrance was. Then I got a buddy of mine to take a sniff. To this day, he's still not forgiven me.

[euplusia]

Stapeliads are easy to grow, but being succulent they need a well draining medium and a dry rest period, and fertilize with low nitrogen.

[katrina]

Beautiful!! I grew a LOT of different cacti and succulents before getting into orchids and I've had a good deal of success w/both. And then I discovered stapeliads....and my success rate dropped. I have 3 now...2 struggling (a lot)...1 growing well but not great...none blooming as of yet. I usually do so well w/the group that these have me stumped. Still...I continue to try. I still have a small collection of cacti and succulents and I even bloom most...but darn these staps.

Yours is beautiful...good job w/it!

[No-Pro-mwa]

That is one cool bloom. Not sure I would want the smell though. But what am I saying, my dogs just came back in the house and they smell like horse poo.

[WhiteRabbit]

Awesome!

[isurus79]

That's awesome! This is one of two plants I have growing with my orchids that is not an orchid (the other is another Stapelia). I seem to be able to grow the plant like a weed, but it hasn't flowered for me yet! I'll just have to enjoy yours!