Stinky greenhouse. Stapelia gigantea.

latterly I promised more regular visits to see what is in bloom in the greenhouse . And just at the mo there are some enormous and rather eldritch blooms on display . But if you could visit here on a sunny day , you might not want to linger long because it smells as if something has died .

If you have frail sensibility you might object to the smell and you will be revolted by this plant ’s rather gruesome riding habit . It is not insectivorous exactly , but it rely on fly sheet to pollinate it . It come from arid , desert region of South Africa where there is a want of butterflies and bees . It is sometimes known as the Carrion Flower because not only does it reek , but the bloom is suppose to resemble carrion in ordering to pull in flies to pollinate it . It is flesh- coloured , it has wavy concentric lines like veins and the flowers are edge with pelt .

The flower petal feel like soft suede . Flies are attracted by the smell and the appearance and they position their eggs on it and pick up pollen . Actually , I never get seeds in mine so perhaps I have the wrong -sized flies . The maggot shortly pall of starving so they fall off and presumably nourish the root .

I hump this all sounds absolutely repellant , but let ’s face at it another elbow room . An alternate name for it is Starfish Cactus and indeed it does look like a sea star .

If you go in the greenhouse on a muffled day , there is no smell . And the starfish -like flower are awesome , they expect unreal , or as if someone has knitted them . And the buds are wonderful too ; they take ages to plump up until eventually they look just like balloons .

In summer these industrial plant exist in a sunny spot in my nursery and get regular lacrimation . Flowering is stimulated by the shortening days . In wintertime they have to number inside because they ca n’t take temperatures below 10c . They need to be kept very wry in wintertime so I leave them on spare bedroom window sills and forget about them .

Stapelea giganteahas succulent , four - angled stems which are gutless and velvety to the touch . It looks like a cactus but it actually belongs to the Milkweed family .

I have read thatStapelia giganteacan become invasive in warm climates and in Hawaii it has become a menace , but there is no hazard of that hap here in the UK . It wo n’t seed around , but it is easy from cuttings . If you require a really strange industrial plant for the greenhouse then why not give it a try ? The vast flower will contain visitors in their rails . They can be as big as 10 - 16 inches across and another name for it is Zulu Giant . If you ca n’t stand the look , you could always keep it alfresco in summer in a cheery spot but it should n’t be move once the bud have formed because they might cast off .

reader of my blog will do it that I have a passion for nerines and they are the stars of my October greenhouse , assist me to forget that wintertime is come . They are now full of bud and some of them are blooming , so next time I take you into the glasshouse it will be to have a look . Nerines are fabulous with beautiful , starry peak , luminous semblance and no rainfly or horrifying smell .

15 Responses toStinky greenhouse. Stapelia gigantea.

I think it ’s fascinating . Thanks for share-out ! I ’m not sure I ’d be able to last a long time inside the greenhouse with it when it ’s blooming , but it IS bewitching !

Stinky greenhouse. Stapelia gigantea.