TerraForums - Carnivorous Plant Community
Welcome to TerraForums — a long-running carnivorous plant community established in 2001. Register for free to join the conversation, ask questions, and connect with growers from around the world.
Share this page
Keep them warm, in as much light as possible. Stapelia like richer soil than most succulents. They are in no way cold hardy. The soil should be light, fast draining and NEVER wet. I have had plants survive for a year without water. Some of the flowers have a really beautiful scent, sort of a cross between a sick babies diaper left in a plastic bag in the sun for a month, and a decomposing muskrat.
Creepy plants they are. Ugh.
Creepy plants they are. Ugh.
Some Stapelia definitely cannot take full sun. They turn red and then black before they perish. During the hottest part of the year I keep mine where they only get direct sun until noon, then they are somewhat shaded but still bright light. I water about once a week, but the soil is made up mostly of sand and course gravel so it drains very fast. If the soil drains fast and the humidity is low you should be able to water more often. I have a particularly nice plant (hirsuta) that has a flower that resembles a dead mouse/rat and smells about the same. I enjoy watching the flies lay eggs on the flowers just to have their maggots die from lack of rotten meat. Nothing quite like a garden full of flowering Stapelia and devil's claws. Now if I can just get some Amorphophallus to flower!
Im starting to see some problems in my Stepla plants.
In both the S. gigantica and S. gettlffi the flower buds are starting to wilt away, and in the S. carion one of the main stocks is starting to drop. I havent waterd them since I recieved them and the soil dosent appear to be too dry. I wonder if the soil may be too moist and that the roots are starting to root. What is a good indicator of early root rot.
any help would be much appreciated thanks
In both the S. gigantica and S. gettlffi the flower buds are starting to wilt away, and in the S. carion one of the main stocks is starting to drop. I havent waterd them since I recieved them and the soil dosent appear to be too dry. I wonder if the soil may be too moist and that the roots are starting to root. What is a good indicator of early root rot.
any help would be much appreciated thanks
i have a gigantea but dont have the other too. they are awesome plants but mine has not flowered yet. its got to this summer! its huge.
I probably am not the best for info on this group, but no one else seems to want to step up and respond. If the soil is not draining rapidly there is a problem and suggest you repot in a better mix. Add some small gravel or course sand. Make sure there are good drainage holes in the bottom of the pot. If the soil is good and the pot is not drying fast you need to reduce or stop watering (in such a case I assume the humidity is too high). Does the soil feel moist down an inch or so in the medium? If the roots start to rot, you can always take cuttings of the stem and try to root them in a drier mix.[b said:
in the winter stapelia perfer almost dry all winter. Thats what i do with mine. i start watering as it warms in spring and then plant will start shooting
about them wilting ? I would say did you have them in the cold? because mine were wilting in the cold and i brought mine in and they stood back up. i have mine in my iguanas cage under the UV bulb. He never messes with the plant.
about them wilting ? I would say did you have them in the cold? because mine were wilting in the cold and i brought mine in and they stood back up. i have mine in my iguanas cage under the UV bulb. He never messes with the plant.