Mike, great photos! I had huge pot of lifesaver Stapelia but lost most of them to mealies. I think I have 3-4 left now. I also have red one, I forgot the name.
Lifesaver.

That Stapelia leendertziae is to die for - so cool and beautiful in a weird way.

...and Jan's 'lifesaver' Stapelia made me laugh out loud. Honestly, every time I see a photograph of a stapelia, my mood level rises 2 points. So, thanks guys, since I can't even begin to entertain the idea of growing my own! ^_^

My explanation of the succulent Hoya relatives did not make much sense but I had meant to say that there are many different groups of plants in this group which is often referred to as the Stapeliads. Orbea, Caralluma, Huernia, Stapelia, Duvalia, Piaranthus, and the list goes on and on.

Nice plant Jan, the name is Huernia zebrina. I had a really interesting Huernia species bloom for the first time last year, no blooms yet this year though.
Huernia somalica

GG don't be shy with the Stapeliads, the Huernias are easy to grow and many don't really stink. There is even a very attractive mini species, Stapelia flavopurpurea that smells like honey.

Mike

Here is a link that might be useful: a great photo site on Stapeliads

Oh! Love the Stapelias- especially the green flowered ones and the bell shapes! Thinking I may have to try a flavopurpurea - the flowers are dear!

Great photos!

Kelly

Thanks Kelly. I had a little Staplea flavopupurea but it seams to have all but died on me this year, not an easy plant for me to get in Canada but it is not hard to find from speciality nurseries in the U.S. You should give it a try, it's a tiny little thing and the flowers are just out of this world colourful.

Mike

Should have one coming next week! Woo Hoo! Hoping it will have buds on it!

Kelly

Shoal Creek Succulents carries a great selection but seems to be out of Stapelia species right now, they do have a Raphionacme sp available though and those are very cool Hoya relatives. Where did you end up ordering from?

Congrats on the Stapleia Kelly!

Mike

flavopurpurea is cute! The best recommendation in this community is always going to be for small growing plants, I have to think. I really enjoyed the link you provided, too. It was like going to the zoo without leaving my office.

Mike,
It's coming from TeeDee Cactus on eBay! The picture shows buds, so I'm hopeful! Should I keep this a little more dry than the hoyas?
Thanks for linking your photos! This is a fun bunch of plants!
Kelly

Kelly these plants need a whole different type of culture, send me a private email and I can give you some info. I rest my plants during the winter so they get almost no water, can't get much easier than that. The trick is knowing when you should not water these ones.

The Stapeliads and Asclepiads group on Flickr is one of the best places to see great photos of these plants, including Hoyas so everyone check it out.

Mike

Here is a link that might be useful: Stapeliads and Asclepiads Group on Flickr

Thanks Mike for posting this information on stapelias. I have just recently found these interesting plants and had to have one. I ordered seeds from the Botanical Archive and just got them planted today. I ordered:
Huernia pillansii
Stapelia revoluta
Stapelia variegata
Stapelia grandiflora
Stapelia revoluta
Wisteria Sinensis Bonsai

Have you tried to grow them from seeds? Thanks for the information!!

I have grown these from seed many times. The best place to learn about Asclepiads is The International Asclepiad Society, they publish a very nice quarterly magazine and have a seed bank with rare species and very reasonable prices but it's for members only. Articles in the magazine cover the succulent species, Hoyas and other members of this botanical family. New species are often formally published in the magazine.

You need to keep the seed quite warm and with bright light. Sow on the surface of the soil and then very lightly cover with some grit. You will have to artificially heat the seeds if it's cool in your area. Early summer is the best time to sow Stapeliad seeds. I keep the seeds covered usually in a plastic bag until the seedlings put on a little size. If you don't have success from seed don't worry it takes some practice. Don't sow all your seed at once and remember to keep the seeds warm and bright while germinating and over the winter. Small plants are fairly inexpensive and not too difficult to get from US succulent or specialty nurseries.

Mike

Here is a link that might be useful: International Asclepiad Society

I just bought about 15 new asclepiads to add to my collection from Miles' to Go. Not only were most of the plants bigger then I expected, many were in bloom. Here's a few that are blooming now. The only one that's really smelly is the lutea.

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Very nice plants! The first photo, the Rhytidocaulon species is very nice. I lost my plant due to root mealies last winter and it will be very hard to find again. The stems just look like a shriveled dead twig, great camouflage against browsing animals.
I was never able to bloom my Caralluma lutea, boy is it a nice looking plant, even if it stinks.

Mike

Can I ask how you grow yours, Mike? I have a mixed pot of huernias, that I know of, and I believe some stapelias as well. I got them as a bonus in a trade at first, then some more as an intentional trade, and I'd like to know how to keep them happy. Before it was kind of a 'not getting my hopes up' situation, but they stayed alive and in fact grew! I repotted the first ones into a shallow but larger diameter pot to accommodate some new cuttings, but then started getting some rotting, unfortunately. I cut off the rotted bits and let the ends dry, and started those ones over. But I haven't checked them since.

I finally got a few minutes to look at your album. You have some fantastic varieties. I especially like the O. variegata, caralluma, Duvalia sulcata and S. erectiflora. I see you also have ceropegias. Do you have a difficult time finding them in Canada? It's taken me quite a while to find more then the common ones. I see so many interesting ones listed for sale in European nurseries but not much in the US.

Quinn the best advice I can give concerning the culture of these plants is to water when it's sunny and warm and to avoid water or wet conditions when it is gloomy or cold. During the winter rest plants in bright light and give sips of water every now and then but only on bright sunny days. Keep plants from getting rained on or at least from staying wet for days on end. I water and then let the potting mix dry and then water again during the summer. A mix of cactus soil plus grit or small gravel works, perlite or pumice also works well to keep the mix open and fast draining. Clay pots are great but plastic work just as well as long as the mix is fast draining. Bright light is best but some plants can grow under full sun. Many species grow under cover of shrubs or grasses but others grow right out in the open and they can endure very harsh conditions, wet and cold conditions are their main enemy, that and mealies.

Karyn I get almost all of my plants including Stapeliads and Ceropegias from Paul Shirley Succulents in the Netherlands. I also grow many from seed which I get from the International Asclepiad Society seedbank or from other sources like Ebay. Ebay is a great place to find plants as well and many American sellers offer plants during the summer. You can find mixed Stapeliad seed packets at some US and European nurseries and they are great from starting a collection although you may get hybrids vs species.

Mike

The Int. Asclepiad Society is a good idea. I've browsed their site in the past but haven't joined. Maybe I should. I rarely see any ceropegias on Ebay that I don't already have and have. It figures that Paul Shirley doesn't want to mail product to the US. He has some nice varieties. I wonder what alternative shipping method he's talking about, FedEx or UPS? I can just imagine what the shipping charges would be for that.

Mike,
Is there a list somewhere of stapeliads that don't smell rotten? Tried doing a search but haven't found one yet. There really are a good selection of stapeliads on ebay!
Thanks!
Kelly

Kelly very few smell good so it would be easiest to try for ones that have little smell. Some are notoriously stinky so they are fairly easy to avoid but I have never come across a list of the weak or non scented species.
Even the stinky ones only smell when it's really hot, I just put mine outside when they bloom. The Huernias are often less stinky but the dark red coloured ones seem to smell the most. Duvalia is another stinky (dung)genus and most Stapelias smell like something died. Orbeanthus hardyi is one you might look for, really nice easy to grow plant and no bad scent.

Orbeanthus hardyi

Mike

I think you're pretty safe with any of the small flowered varieties. I've never been overwhelmed by the smell even when a number of them are open. The larger flowers are another story but Mike's right, the smell is minimal when temps are cool. I have an S. gigantea with several blooms open. I've been avoiding the greenhouse thinking it would make me gag but it's cooled down here with evening temps in the upper 50's so I went in and was happily surprised not to really smell much of anything.

This is stapelia schinzii blooming today. It's only one of about a half dozen that I have left out of a collection that used to number around 75-80 plants.I have this plant growing in an 6" clay pot and is was almost 4 feet long but due to staying a bit too wet from all the rain we've had this summer some pieces of it rooted off.

David your clone of schinzii is very nice, those prominent purple hairs really stand out compared to my plant's.

Mike

Mike did you also notice that the corona is different between the two??? I've had this plant for a number of years but have no idea as to where it came from!!!!

Yes there are a few forms of this species, Stapelia schinzii and Stapelia schinzii var schnizii are the ones that come to mind. I don't know much about this species otherwise but it had been on my must have list for years before I tracked one down.

Mike