A few flowered for me before bring them in and one continued once inside it's new home for the winter.









And a few Stapelias



























My nose works very well but I didn't noticed any bad smells from these guys and no flys around to pollenate. No seeds.
Stush

They all look so cute

What is the secret to getting Stapeliads to bloom? I have quite a few varieties but they don't bloom for me.

Nancy,
I own about 50 different ones and only 10 have bloomed for me. I have one, well now two pots full of Stapelia Orbea variegata for several years now and never bloomed a flower. I just bought one Huernia insigniflora that doesn't want to stop.
My best guess is to feed them phosphate. Comes in ground up stone and sprinkle in the soil and water in. It feeds the roots which helps flower development. I started this during the summer but a lot of mine didn't bloom. Also I can't tell you why mine doesn't have that dead smell to it. Maybe next year when they are more developed. Nothing to look forward to except to get seeds.
Stush

Thanks for the info. I will try the phosphate. 10 out of 50 is pretty good!

Nancy,
I have to say, I bring them all out for the spring and summer until mid October. Being out side seems to really boost them up. Partial Sun/Shade. Also water much more but almost nothing while in the house.

My next to bloom; Huernia bayeri. Was almost all white, picture shows yellow. Almost like Huernia somalica hybrids. Also bayeri has a flatter flower.
Some bad news. My H. insigniflora has almost died. It bloomed almost all of summer and was growing great. I noticed today when inspecting the plants. All the tops look good but no bottoms or roots what so ever. I clean cut them and will re-pot up with root-tone. Taken form window to basement lamps. Wish I knew why these things happen.
Some good news. My Stapelia hirsutis formed another flower bud. Hope it finishes and blooms for me again.
Stush

Those are beautiful photos Stush!

The case of your H. insigniflora reminded me of one my plumeria cuttings, one of my earlier failed attempts..the cutting managed to bloom but no roots at all. Just latent buds. That was my first understanding of what it meant for the plant to have latent buds. The buds just laying dormant at the surface, just waiting for its chance to come out. I was such a newbie with plumies then, so I mistakenly watered the plant..too bad it was just slowly rotting the base, since there were no roots there, so I lost the cutting eventually.

Great!! Database?

Stush2019: I have the same problem with many type of Stapeliads. They seem fine and then all of a sudden the stems brown, dry up, and no roots. Some I can get to root under my lights in my laundry room. Some never root even after years! The only one I can rely on is Stapelia gigantea.

I have read that in nature, they die back and restart themselves regularly. For us that means constant diebacks and restarting. Never achieving a nice full plant setting. Well I hope that is not the case. Maybe with acid soil and more phosphors we can change that. Lighting is another problem come winter months.
Stush

Mine all bloomed when I sprayed them with leftover orchid fertilizer that I was trying to use up! I can't remember the kind but yes, it was high in phosphorous and potassium!!! And mine smelled really bad but only when you stick your nose in it ;)

Last to bloom. And there is a smell, but only if you put your nose right into it. Now if only I can make it to spring. This is the best Asclepiads season so far.

Lately I have been hearing about using acid soil for Stapeliads and I'm definitely going to try that. My cactus soil is not acid at all so that will be a start. I also have plenty of orchid fertilizer and will try that too. I'm trying to get grocery store phals to rebloom. I just learned with them that they need 65-68º to set buds. I don't know how I'll figure that one out!
Here is a Stapelia paniculata hybrid that I got from my Cactus Society meeting. It bloomed with no help from me!

My Phals always rebloom and I don't fuss with them, just put them in a shady spot somewhere, cut the old spike after the 2nd notch, and ignore them....

Thanks for the tip on feeding phosphorous. My Stapliad gigantea just grows and grows, also puts off lots of blooms. I keep it indoors in winter and it usually gets taken out when the buds start to show up . . . don't want that one to bloom in my house! I do water it with house plant fertilizer when it is inside.
The huernias multiply well but barely bloom, I think I'll try feeding them. I'd love to see more of those weird blooms!

Please watch your feeding them during winter time. This is their rest time and they don't need fertilizer at all in their native soils. I did this because I have a problem with root rot at this time. I keep them too cold. Too costly for me to keep them at 75 or so. The sulfur lowers the ph so the fungus can't grow and they do live in that range in nature and I look at phosphorous more like a mineral supplement than a fertilizer which encourages strong root growth. Well at least that's the way I look at it that makes the most sense to me.
Hope it helps.
Stush

Last years' Huernia seedlings under lights.





other half is Stapelia seedlings and Euphorbia seedlings

Stush