Perhaps an EMail to Dr. Barad would do the trick as he does grow Carallumas (last I knew, a few yrs. ago) He of Stapeliad fame & the site 'Stapeliads: the Orchids of the Succulent World'.

HTH

A stap that smells nice? That would definitely be worth having!

yes this one smell like freshly peeled oranges! It is amazing!

pirate girl how do I find an address for this man you talk about?

Pls. do a search for

"Stapeliads: the Orchids of the Succulent World"

that (his site) used to have an email address where one could reach him & ask related questions: him being Dr. Jerry Barad who famously specializes in Asclepiads (which includes Carallumas) & the only place I've ever seen Carallumas in person.

Also, have you tried searching for any Nurseries which might sell Carallumas?

Also, are you sure the plant name is right & it's really a Caralluma, rather than Stapeliad schweinfurthei or Huernia schweinfurthei?

I have posted the picture of the plant, it is the right name, and that is an example of the caralluma bloom, and its sort spotted stem. I have seen it on a few RARE nurseries, but they are always sold out or don't ship to the USA. When pieces of it show up on EBay, it costs a fortune for 1 tiny piece, and I always miss out on the final bid. Even for 1 small piece for well over $20! THAT is obscene. I see big hanging baskets of it for sale online, for like $18,but not to to USA.

Botanical Growers Network P.O. Box 358092 Gainesville, Fl 32635
Physical - Botanical Growers Network 9009 SE CR 325 Hampton, Fl 32044
Ph.1-352-468-2165

thanks nomen-nudum...that is THE only site that says it has big specimen's of this plant, BUT it seems the only way to reach them is to call them. I cant seem to place an order on there site, and it seems to overlap with a site called 'RealFlora' to. I cant tell them apart.

So I have to wait till Monday to CALL them and ask if they actually have it. I saw a big hanging basket of it for $18 on their site, and of course like $9 to ship, but it would be worth it! So I have to wait till tomorrow to call them and ask. Not even an email address to contact them. THAT worries me. Very little info on them, that worries me as well. When I do a direct search on their sitem it says they don't have it, but do a Google search and it brings up this page and Real Flora at the same time, almost overlapping.
It is VERY odd.

poohbearlvr,
I also are into 'Asclepiads' and didn't recognize that name. I will do a search and you got my interest peaked.
Stush

Ok, this is what I found out so far. Caralluma Schweinfurthii Also know as Orbea schweinfurthii 'Wikipedia'. Bob Smoley has about 3 or 4 Caralluma for sale but not yours. He also has the largest amount of different Asciepiads for sale. Seems all for only $5 each if he has them. Myself, I have been waiting for him to restock some of his sold out ones.
Stush

I have dealt with Bob Smoley long ago,didnt know he still was selling anything. I haven't gotten a catalog from him in years, and I use to buy many many stapelias from him,including this one, I think. I thought he went out of business since I didn't get any catalogs. I guess I will go look up his site, maybe I can get other stapelias.

I wrote to Bob Smoley weeks ago, t o try and get a catalog, or see if he has one online....no reply. Guess he is out of business. Does anyone know for sure?

No he's not as far as I can tell. I saw an late notice from him on line catalog saying he's was busy. I have only delt with Bob on line. I don't think he has a paper catalog just what's on the web.

I came across this thread looking for info on these since I just got a whole mess of them. Tropiflora has them right now. I ordered two pots thinking they'd be pretty small, but they wound up being heaping pots of well rooted specimens.

Pretty sure Orbea schweinfurthii is the correct and current name. I have this plant and don't remember it costing that much!
If you are looking for other pleasant smelling staps, try Stapelia flavopurpurea.

-Ming

Orbea schweinfurthii is another name for this plant. I have one also. Just a rooted stem cutting. It has one off shout. Waiting for a flower.
Stush

Well I ordered 1 pot of them yesterday, so they have 3 left. I HOPE the yare full pots as mentioned, because I did buy a small size one, about a 4in pot for $4. I got 3 of them and made 1 nice big pot, and it has flowered 2 times already, the orange smell is so great! But if these come in a 6in pot, not bare root, it will be worth the total of $16.45 including shipping and tax. Since I am in Fla. it was taxed. The way 'naoh123' said it was a 'full 6in pot' I hope that meant it comes potted. No matter how it is shipped ,the stems break off very easily, but also root VERY easily, so I just stick them in the soil and they root right up! I love this Stapelia, the flower is so small,but at least it smells like oranges:).

poohbearlvr,
Pictures please.
Stush

a picture of what?

A picture of your recently-acquired plants.

i just ordered 1....it hasn't arrived yet. the other 3 that I got months ago and potted up together just looks like the Caralluma all over the internet. I don't have any pics. of them.

Here you go. Nothing in bloom out of the box, but they appear to be quite healthy.

Forgot to mention, no kidding about the stems breaking off so easy. They do a good job of taping a few layers of newspaper over the pots but there were a few 'stems' that broke off. I think I wound up separating more while trying to repot these. Do these propagate as easily as other succulent plants? I just plopped the broken segments in moist succulent potting mix. I'm hopeful since I see how readily these things poke out new roots, and the breaks all happened at the base from the main stem.

Edit: disregard my question, just noticed you mentioned that they do indeed root easily, thanks for the info!

This post was edited by naoh123 on Mon, Jul 14, 14 at 21:11

this caralluma is SO easy to root it is silly. And you will have dozens of stems falling off that plant..right? you can either lay them on top of VERY good cactus soil and hold them in place with plastic coated paper clips bent open to like a big U, so it doesn't move while it roots. OR just stick the part that came off the stem into VERY GOOD cactus soil, about a 1/2in down and it will root in a week or two at most. It grows fast and it is VERY delicate, thats why it breaks off. But if you give it FULL sun nearly all day it toughens them up a bit and they tend to not break as easily.i don't know where you are located, but I am in south Fla. and mine are in full sun all day,and they grow like weeds,but if they get sopping wet, they rot FAST! So use a fast draining cactus soil and they will grow fast and bloom several times a year. Hope that helps.

They bloom on the ends, of longer stems. So...try to get long stems, to get blooms. And feed with bloom booster fert.

Picture of mine. Can't wait for a flower. It already sprouted another stem from the bottom since this picture was taken. Seems to be a fast grower.
Stush

as I said it is a FAST grower and it blooms easily,but needs a bit of length t o bloom on the end of any stem.

well my Caralluma arrived today. It looks pretty much like ' Naoh123's plant, and like 10 BIG stems fell off of it as I unpacked it. I can easily pot them up into a 4in pot to root, and it would go into a 6in pot by 'winter' here in Fla. For right now they are in a glass of water to keep them hydrated, I know they are succulents, but they arrived a bit limp, the soil in the pot is bone dry. So I want to plump them back up in a day or 2, then pot them up over the weekend. So. if anyone wants to buy one, if Tropiflora has any left, order now! They are gigantic and $10.! A deal !!

I'm in Illinois, not the best climate for these but during the summer they get direct sun from noon to sunset. Mine came bone dry as well, but I suspect tropiflora is just playing it safe because of that tendency to rot that poohbearlvr mentioned. They firm up pretty quick after a modest watering, though. I don't know if it constitutes as VERY good mix, but I make a standard mix for my plants needing fast drain; it's about 1:2:2 of pure peat, sand, and pearlite, and a fair amount of gravel thrown in for the heck of it. My schlumbergera seem happy with it so I'm thinking the caralluma will be happy with it too. Glad you were able to get your hands on these finally, good luck!