Here is another succulent putting on a great show now. This is in my neighbor’s front yard and it’s been a work in progress for a few months. It looked like a giant asparagus when the spike started reaching for the sky.
This is what the flowers look like before they bloom. This clump is known as a cyme.
Here’s the agave in all its glory. Like other succulent blooms, the flowers start opening at the bottom and work their way up. Bees were buzzing all over the flowers. These are soooo cool!
This bloom spike is about 12 feet tall. The plant will die back when the stalk is done blooming, but it will send shoots out from the base and repopulate itself.
Tagged as:
agave americana,
agaves,
succulent
I was out in the back yard yesterday and kept getting a whiff of something stinky. I looked around, thinking I was going to find a dead rat, but finally realized the smell was coming from up above in one of my hanging pots. Surprise! My little stapelia bloomed for the first time in five years!!! What a beauty….
Orbea variegata (Corona)
Tagged as:
Carrion Flower,
orbea variegata,
stapelia,
succulent
I knew this succulent, a Stapelia gigantea aka Carrion Flower, was going to bloom but I thought it was going to be awhile. What a nice surprise to find this huge flower in full bloom! The flower is spectacular!
What a nice surprise!
The interesting thing about these blooms is that they smell awful – rotting meat kind of awful – hence the name, Carrion Flower. It’s a naughty trick to play on people, but it is fun to watch the disgust on their faces when they get a good whiff. Definitely not what most people expect, but the flies love it! We have to keep the plant away from open windows – it’s that bad!
Stinky attracts flies.
The details on this flower are incredible. Texture, hair, color.
Look at the hair on this baby!
Furry edges on the leaves
A little star in the middle of the flower!
Stapelia gigantea, a native of Africa, is a succulent made up of 4-sided spineless stems. Their typical blooming time is September. The flowers are large, fleshy and shaped as 5-pointed stars, measuring 10-16 inches across. These plants thrive on full sun and moderate water in a well-drained soil (2 parts loam to 1 part sand) with small pebbles mixed in for drainage. They need a cool, dry rest period in winter. Fertilize once during the growing season with a balanced fertilizer diluted to ½ the strength recommended on the label. They are happiest in pots. Propagate new plants by stem cuttings. Take cuttings in spring when new growth begins, letting cuttings callus up for 2-3 weeks before planting. I have had minimal success with propagating but I haven’t given up. This plant is just too cool not to keep trying!
Tagged as:
Carrion Flower,
Stapelia Gigantea,
succulent
