Stapelia grandiflora
Crops feed us and supply us with recent air to breathe. They beautify our landscapes, and brighten up our houses.
And once we develop houseplants like starfish flower – they supply us with a supply of fascination and curiosity!
Should you’re pondering of rising a starfish flower or have already launched one into your house, congratulations!
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And welcome to the discerning membership of parents who’re keen to place up with pungent flowers within the title of beautiful blooms.
We’re going to cowl every little thing you’ll have to know to care to your succulent plant.
Right here’s a sneak peek at what we’re going to debate:
What Is Starfish Flower?
Starfish flower, Stapelia grandiflora, is a leafless succulent with upright or ascending stems which might be about half an inch to at least one inch vast. Crops type clumps of stems that may have a 20 inch unfold.
Particular person stems can attain as much as 12 inches tall and are pale inexperienced to reddish, relying on solar publicity.
The stems of this succulent have 4 angles, and these are punctuated with “tubercles,” small protuberances that make the plant appear to be a spined cactus – though these vegetation should not prickly within the least!
Produced from late summer season to fall and born on the base of the plant, flower buds develop to appear to be inflated balloons, then open to disclose star formed flowers, every with 5 lengthy petals.
These blooms attain six inches vast and are a reddish-brown to purple coloration. The facilities of the flowers are coated with lengthy purple hairs whereas the petals are coated with lengthy white hairs which might be virtually fur-like.
The floor of the flowers has a furrowed texture and sample that appears just like a cross part of uncooked meat.
This assortment of traits isn’t any accident – these flowers have advanced to lie round wanting like useless animals to draw their most popular pollinators: flies.
And the flowers of this plant don’t solely look interesting to flies, additionally they emit simply the kind of odor that will additionally persuade a fly to go take a gander – a odor that offers these vegetation their nickname “carrion flowers.”
By the best way, in the event you’re frightened about attracting flies indoors, so long as you might have screens in your home windows, you shouldn’t anticipate them to invade your house.
As off-putting as this may increasingly sound, not everybody will discover the odor of the flowers.
Nonetheless, the odor given off by these blooms does are likely to get stronger the longer they’re open.
As an answer to this downside, many houseplant gardeners preserve these vegetation outdoors throughout the heat months, which is when blooms normally seem.
If flies oblige the plant, the flowers are pollinated and seed pods are produced, that are lengthy and skinny.
Seeds are sluggish to ripen, nevertheless, taking as much as a yr. At maturity, the seed pods cut up open, revealing their flossy contents.
Just like the seeds of its relative, milkweed, the seeds of the starfish flower are hooked up to silky plumes, which allow them to be transported by the wind.
Cultivation and Historical past
Categorized botanically as Stapelia grandiflora, starfish flower is native to South Africa the place it grows in dry shrubland or desert habitats.
This member of the dogbane household or Apocynaceae could considerably resemble a cactus, and is usually known as “starfish flower cactus” – however cactus it isn’t!
Actually, it’s extra intently associated to milkweed, frangipani, and oleander than it’s to prickly pears. It’s additionally a detailed relative to different stars of the houseplant world resembling hoyas and string of hearts.
This plant’s genus, Stapelia, accommodates about 43 species, a lot of which additionally go by the title “starfish flower.” Complicating issues a bit, members of two different genera, Orbea and Huernia, additionally go by the title “starfish flower.”
Look after these different species may be completely different from one to the opposite since they originate in numerous habitats, so attempt to discover out which species you might have earlier than assuming its wants are the identical as S. grandiflora!
Collectively these succulent vegetation with their starfish-shaped flowers are referred to as “stapeliads,” a time period which comes from the genus title Stapelia. They’re also called “African starfish flowers” and “carrion flowers,” the latter due to their tendency to look and odor like rotting flesh!
Although generally cultivated as houseplants, S. grandiflora may also be grown open air year-round in USDA Hardiness Zones 9 to 11.
Starfish Flower Propagation
Starfish flower cactus may be propagated from seeds or cuttings, the latter of which is the simplest – and quickest – methodology.
From Seed
Let’s look into propagating starfish flower from seed first.
Right here’s what you’ll want for this venture: seeds, cactus and succulent rising medium, two- to four-inch nursery pots or propagation trays, a twig bottle for watering, and plastic baggage or humidity domes.
Ensure you’re utilizing seeds which have absolutely ripened, however are additionally pretty recent since recent seeds have higher germination charges.
Fill the nursery pots or trays with rising medium, leaving a half an inch to an inch of house between the highest of the soil and the rim of the pot.
Place the seeds one inch aside, and canopy evenly with soil. Water with a twig bottle, then cowl every pot with a humidity dome or plastic bag to maintain humidity excessive.
Set the pots in a heat location, ideally between 75 to 95°F. You might want to make use of a warmth mat to maintain the seeds heat.
Want a warmth mat? The Seedling Warmth Mat is out there in three sizes and may be bought by way of Gardener’s Provide.
Place pots in vibrant, oblique gentle and preserve them moist, however don’t let the rising medium get soggy as this could result in damping off, which can kill younger seedlings.
After germination, take away the pots from the warmth mat. Just a few days after germination, take away the humidity domes.
Proceed to water the seedlings with a twig bottle for at the very least the primary month or so, protecting the rising medium barely moist however not moist.
When seedlings are about two inches tall, watering may be decreased, and they are often repotted into their very own four-inch pots.
Crops normally flower inside two to 3 years when propagated from seed.
From Cuttings
Would you favor to propagate starfish flower from cuttings? The most effective time for this venture is in summer season when situations are heat.
Right here’s what you’ll want: a mum or dad plant to take cuttings from, cactus and succulent rising medium, pots, and sterilized scissors or plant snips.
Plan on taking at the very least three stem cuttings per small pot for a properly crammed out specimen. Take cuttings about an inch above the soil line, selecting stems which might be 4 to 5 inches tall or extra.
Enable cuttings to callus over in a shaded, dry location earlier than planting – this may increasingly take as much as two weeks.
When you await the succulent cuttings to callus, discover some pots to make use of for propagating the cuttings.
Undecided which dimension pot to make use of?
Select a pot on the shallow aspect, not more than 4 or 5 inches deep. As for width, that depends upon what number of cuttings you might have.
For a pot that’s 4 inches vast, you might plant roughly three to eight cuttings, relying on how fats the stems are.
These four-inch terra cotta clay pots are an ideal dimension for a small group of cuttings and can be found in packs of eight by way of Amazon.
After the cuttings have shaped calluses, put together the pots by filling them with dry rising medium. Go away an inch of house between the highest of the soil and the rim of the pot.
Subsequent, hole out an area within the middle of the pot that’s about two inches deep and vast sufficient to accommodate the group of cuttings.
Bundle up the cuttings shut collectively and be sure that the callused ends are all at about the identical stage, then insert the ends of the cuttings into the hollowed house.
Press soil across the cuttings, and agency it down, in order that the stems stay upright.
Place the pot in vibrant, oblique gentle for per week, however don’t water the cuttings till per week has handed.
After per week, begin to water evenly when the rising medium dries out. Additionally, begin to step by step transition the specimen to some direct solar publicity.
The cuttings needs to be properly rooted inside a month or so, at which level the plant may be cared for like a mature specimen. Crops can bloom inside a yr when propagated from cuttings.
Need extra suggestions for this course of? Be taught extra about propagating houseplants in our article!
Easy methods to Develop Starfish Flower
Should you take pleasure in rising succulents as a result of they’re pretty simple to take care of, starfish flower vegetation won’t disappoint!
When grown indoors, the absolute best gentle for starfish flower is direct solar publicity, so place your plant near a south-facing window the place it could possibly absorb rays and the place it will likely be extra more likely to produce its beautiful flowers.
Nonetheless, if situations are extraordinarily sizzling, providing this plant rather less direct solar for a part of the day is finest. A minimum of 4 hours of direct solar per day is an efficient aim to intention for, whereas the remainder of the plant’s day by day gentle publicity needs to be vibrant, oblique gentle.
That goes for specimens grown open air as properly, both all yr in appropriate USDA Hardiness Zones, or for the summer season in different places. They are going to thrive in full solar to half shade, however desire half shade when situations are sizzling.
On the subject of watering, permit the rising medium to dry out virtually fully in between visits with the watering can, however examine it extra usually when situations are sizzling. Should you aren’t certain, err on the aspect of underwatering somewhat than overwatering.
Because the rising medium gained’t dry out as quick throughout the shorter, cooler days of winter, you gained’t have to water as usually then.
As for temperatures, these succulents benefit from the heat offered by a sunny window, however as beforehand famous, when situations warmth up in midsummer, resembling in houses with out airconditioning, they like a partial day of oblique gentle.
You are able to do this by both transferring the pot barely farther from the window or through the use of a sheer, white curtain to filter the daylight.
Should you preserve this succulent open air throughout the summer season and dwell in a location with chilly winters, make sure to deliver it in earlier than the mercury drops an excessive amount of in autumn – these vegetation may be injured by temperatures under 40°F.
Though the odor from the plant’s blooms isn’t all the time noticeable, if yours is a trouble, putting it open air throughout summer season is an efficient resolution.
Rising Suggestions
- Supply at the very least 4 hours of direct solar per day.
- Develop in a gritty potting combine for cacti and succulents with glorious drainage.
- Maintain vegetation in temperatures above 40°F.
Upkeep
Should you’re in search of a low upkeep houseplant, you’ve definitely acquired one with S. grandiflora, and it’ll produce flowers simply too!
As soon as the flowers have pale, be at liberty to snip them off with a pair of sterilized scissors or backyard snips, however watch out to not lower off new blooms.
As these vegetation are accustomed to poor soils, fertilizer isn’t actually required. Nonetheless, in the event you’d wish to encourage extra vigorous progress, use a delicate fertilizer designed for cacti and succulents, resembling Dr. Earth’s Succulence.
You’ll discover Dr. Earth’s Succulence Cactus and Succulent Plant Meals obtainable for buy in a 16-ounce pump bottle by way of Arbico Organics.
Fertilize as soon as a month at most, from spring by way of summer season.
As for repotting, that is one other indoor gardening job you gained’t have to fret about fairly often – each two years at most.
These vegetation desire to be rootbound, and their stems may be allowed to spill over the perimeters of their pots. Actually, somewhat than repotting, you would possibly desire harvesting some cuttings to begin a brand new houseplant.
While you do determine to repot, select a reasonably shallow container – not more than 4 or 5 inches is deep sufficient – and ensure it has drainage holes within the backside.
And in the event you dwell in a moist setting, utilizing an unglazed clay pot will allow the rising medium to dry extra simply.
The place to Purchase Starfish Flower
Not as widespread as aloe vera or jade plant, this stapeliad can generally be discovered from plant distributors who specialise in succulents.
Starfish Flower S. Grandiflora
Should you’d wish to develop one in all your individual, you should buy a small starfish flower specimen in a four-inch pot by way of Amazon.
Managing Pests and Illness
Skilled houseplant mother and father shall be no strangers to the likes of mealybugs, the primary pest more likely to have an effect on these succulent vegetation.
When they’re current, these fluffy little white bugs suck vitamins from the stems of the plant, which might weaken it. Making issues worse, the excretions of those bugs are sticky and may permit fungal pathogens to achieve a foothold, finally inflicting the plant’s roots or stems to rot.
Should you discover mealybugs in your plant, you may kill them by making use of neem oil, a product that’s unhazardous to people and pets. Neem oil will do away with your mealybug downside, and assist maintain any fungal pathogens as properly.
Emily’s Naturals Neem Oil is a product that comes with small packets of neem oil and castile cleaning soap in addition to an empty spray bottle. While you’re prepared to make use of it, combine a packet every of neem oil and castile cleaning soap within the spray bottle with water from your individual faucet.
Emily’s Naturals Neem Oil is available in a equipment able to make 48 ounces of neem oil spray and is out there for buy by way of Walmart.
You’ll want to take a look at a small patch of stem first to examine your plant’s response to the product.
After making use of, preserve your plant out of direct solar for a couple of days – oil on the plant tissue may cause burning in direct solar.
You might have to reapply the neem oil as soon as per week for a couple of weeks till the pests are gone, however don’t quit – this remedy does work. You’ll want to spray the bottom of the plant and the rising medium as properly.
Should you’re coping with rotting stems, one of the best recourse could also be to prune off any wholesome stems and propagate them, giving the houseplant a second likelihood.
You’ll be able to be taught extra about rotting in succulents with our article.
Greatest Makes use of of Starfish Flower
Starfish flower can cheer up an area by gracing a desk prime or window sill – or it may be located in a wall planter or hanging planter.
Actually, stapeliads are amongst one of the best trailing cacti and succulents for hanging baskets!
They may also be mixed with different sorts of fleshy vegetation in blended succulent planters.
Or why not get whimsical and embody these in a succulent fairy backyard?
In USDA Hardiness Zones 9 to 11, they are often grown open air year-round so long as soil with glorious drainage is out there.
These vegetation are thought of to be xerophytes and are particularly valued in rock gardens.
Fast Reference Rising Information
| Plant Kind: | Evergreen succulent subshrub | Flower/Foliage Shade: | Reddish brown to purple/inexperienced to reddish inexperienced |
| Native to: | South Africa | Upkeep: | Low |
| Hardiness (USDA Zone): | 11th of September | Tolerance: | Drought, poor soil |
| Bloom Time/Season: | Summer time-fall | Soil Kind: | Cactus and succulent rising medium |
| Publicity: | Direct solar to gentle shade | Soil pH: | 6.5-7.5 |
| Time to Maturity: | 3 years, from seed, 1 yr from cuttings | Soil Drainage: | Effectively-draining |
| Spacing: | 1/2-1 inch (cuttings), 1 inch (seeds) | Attracts: | Flies |
| Planting Depth: | Cowl root ball (transplants), 2 inch (cuttings), barely coated (seeds) | Makes use of: | Hanging baskets, blended succulent planters, succulent fairy gardens, wall planters |
| Top: | As much as 12 inches | Order: | Gentianales |
| Unfold: | 20 inches | Household: | Apocynaceae |
| Water Wants: | Low | Genus: | Stapelia |
| Widespread Pests and Ailments: | Mealybugs, stapeliad snout beetle, wooly aphids; Damping off, root rot, stem rot | Species: | Grandiflora |
The Star of the Succulent Present
Easy to take care of, enjoyable to propagate, and that includes unbelievable blooms that want little coaxing, starfish flower makes an exquisite succulent houseplant offered you might have loads of sunshine to maintain it completely happy.
Are you rising S. grandiflora or one in all its carrion flower producing family? Be happy to share your experiences with our readers under within the feedback part.
And tell us in the event you want any assist with a plant downside or with figuring out the species of your explicit starfish flower – we’d be completely happy to assist!
When you’re exploring the fantastic world of succulents, how about some additional studying proper right here?
