This is the second bloom from my Stapelia gigantea... tomorrow might actually be more impressive, as I think the other four buds on the plant will all open at once then..
It's one of my favorite plants, not only for the impressive flowers, but for the sheer ease of growing the thing. I yank it inside in the winter and ignore it. Then I put it outside in the summer... and ignore it, apart from it getting some water occasionally.
And, every fall, it pretty consistently puts these flowers out. Not bad, huh? Now, I'm not getting as many blooms as normal, we had a killer summer. But I didn't fare as well as normal this summer either... so what more can I ask, right?
The plant carries the common name of Carrion flower. This is due to the fact that it does smell like rotting meat. There are some people who prefer the name of Starfish flower. These are the kind of people who try to change the name of Datura Inoxia from Devil Apple to Angel Trumpet. I find these renamings silly. Listen... you can call this plant "sweetheart with a bow on top" but it doesn't change the fact that it looks unearthly, and it smells like something dead. Carrion flower is what I've always called it and always will.
It's one of my favorite plants, not only for the impressive flowers, but for the sheer ease of growing the thing. I yank it inside in the winter and ignore it. Then I put it outside in the summer... and ignore it, apart from it getting some water occasionally.
And, every fall, it pretty consistently puts these flowers out. Not bad, huh? Now, I'm not getting as many blooms as normal, we had a killer summer. But I didn't fare as well as normal this summer either... so what more can I ask, right?
The plant carries the common name of Carrion flower. This is due to the fact that it does smell like rotting meat. There are some people who prefer the name of Starfish flower. These are the kind of people who try to change the name of Datura Inoxia from Devil Apple to Angel Trumpet. I find these renamings silly. Listen... you can call this plant "sweetheart with a bow on top" but it doesn't change the fact that it looks unearthly, and it smells like something dead. Carrion flower is what I've always called it and always will.
