Plant Profile: Stapelia scitula
I found a new Stapelia succulent! Stapelia scitula, commonly known as the Mini Star Fish Cactus. At least that is what I have concluded after some photo-match research via Google, and the invaluable Dave's Garden! Precious little thing, huh? According to Dave's Garden, this little Stapelia does not exceed six inches in height, which makes her a smaller version of other Stapelia cacti. I can't wait for her to fill in and bloom some more.
Somewhere throughout my search for the name of this cactus, I read that one should take several cuttings from their Stapelia cactus throughout the year to stimulate new growth - because flowers only sprout on new growth... Great tip, however I would say to do this in moderation because I tried this for a while (consistently) and my Stapelia grandiflora started to decline in growth and appearance. When I told my grandmother she told me that if you take too many cuttings in a short amount of time the plant will suffer. It did bloom more when I initially began to take cuttings, but at one point or another I must have taken too many too soon and she shriveled a little. She recovered quickly, and has gotten pretty big since I last photographed her, but I will have to keep the cuttings tip in mind as she has not bloomed in a long while and lack of new growth is most likely the cause.
When the flower opened up on this new little Stapelia, I couldn't help but add the little decorative ceramic owl, the color match is nearly perfect! By the way I first blogged about the ceramic owl planter stakes here.
 |
| Graptopetalum Pentandrum Superbum |
This succulent is called Graptopetalum Pentandrum Superbum (more here). If you think it looks beautiful here, just look at what happened a few weeks after I took the photos above (apart from more sunshine and better/brighter photos)...
You may or may not have noticed the well-formed stock and flower buds in the first images... Well, as luck would have it (for you), I procrastinated on posting those pictures long enough for the flowers to bloom so that I could take new pictures and give you instant gratification. Voila!
And then there are the Jelly Beans, not exactly a new addition to my collection but I can't help but buy them whenever I see them, which isn't often. They propagate soooo easy, each little jelly bean that snaps off will form a new plant almost 100% of the time, unless it's shriveled and yellow. They are fantastic little succulents, I love how they start out green and then with more sun exposure the tips of the "jelly beans" turn a burgundy color!
 |
| Sedeveria Hybrid - Blue Giant #1 |
Other beautiful Stapelia succulents:
 |
| Stapelia grandiflora |
 |
| Stapelia grandiflora |
Stapelia gigantea:
 |
| Stapelia gigantea a.k.a. Stapelia nobilis or Stapelia marlothii |
(All images in this post are my personal photographs, please do not use or publish them without my written permission - InspireBohemia[at]gmail[dot]com - Thank you!)
