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Post by mickthecactus on Jul 12, 2007 14:14:17 GMT 1
Anybody want to know about these? This is what I supply to Kew.
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Post by Sleepy on Jul 12, 2007 14:17:33 GMT 1
Anybody want to know about these? This is what I supply to Kew. Go on then  |
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Post by 4pygmies on Jul 12, 2007 14:25:28 GMT 1
I don't even know what they are.........plants, I assume...
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Post by Sleepy on Jul 12, 2007 14:26:07 GMT 1
I don't even know what they are.........plants, I assume... Office desk equipment I think 4P |
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Post by Sleepy on Jul 12, 2007 14:27:01 GMT 1
I don't even know what they are.........plants, I assume... Office desk equipment I think 4P A gadget that staples and does something else as well. Mick will explain. |
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Post by mickthecactus on Jul 12, 2007 14:28:39 GMT 1
Oh, good grief...........
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Post by The witch on Jul 12, 2007 14:40:39 GMT 1
Anybody want to know about these? This is what I supply to Kew. Yes please Mick |
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Post by The witch on Jul 12, 2007 14:41:03 GMT 1
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Post by 4pygmies on Jul 12, 2007 14:41:42 GMT 1
Little decorative executive toys.....? The sort men get for Christmas.........stapeliads would be a sweet name for a living smiley wouldn't it? Bit like the creatures from "Batteries not included" but with different expressions and little arms and feet. Ahhh........
Anyway, sorry Mick. YES, I would love to find out about them please!
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Post by mickthecactus on Jul 12, 2007 14:45:03 GMT 1
Thank you for some sanity The witch.
(bunch of Philistines........)
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Post by 4pygmies on Jul 12, 2007 14:47:10 GMT 1
Miss Phylis Tines was my maiden great aunt I'll have you know. How dare you bandy her name about?
Come on then - Stapeliads?
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Post by 4pygmies on Jul 12, 2007 14:48:32 GMT 1
Oh WOW! Just looked at The witch's link - they are creatures from outer space...but beautiful!
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Post by The witch on Jul 12, 2007 14:48:35 GMT 1
This is what I supply to Kew. I'm impressed.  |
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Post by The witch on Jul 12, 2007 14:49:28 GMT 1
Oh WOW! Just looked at The witch's link - they are creatures from outer space...but beautiful! They look expensive to me 4P  |
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Post by Sleepy on Jul 12, 2007 14:50:28 GMT 1
Thank you for some sanity The witch. (bunch of Philistines........) You've upset him now 4P!!! |
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Post by 4pygmies on Jul 12, 2007 14:52:05 GMT 1
On two threads apparently!
Sorry Mick.......
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Post by mickthecactus on Jul 12, 2007 15:03:15 GMT 1
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Post by 4pygmies on Jul 12, 2007 15:08:18 GMT 1
I can't get the second link to work, Mick. What sort of scale are these plants - it's hard to get an idea from the pictures. Are they tiny? Like Sempervivums? They are fabulous, aren't they?
I LOVE those Stapelia flavopurpurea...they do look otherworldy though.
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Post by mickthecactus on Jul 12, 2007 15:16:40 GMT 1
Sorry, should have been singular, not plural. www.cactus-mall.com/stapeliad/index.htmlSize varies from really tiny (Orbea ubomboensis) to 6" plus (Stapelia schinzii) for flowers. Plants are not tall but more mat forming and can be a foot or more across. Warning - the flowers are spectacular but some of them pong. I'll explain why tomorrow. |
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Post by The witch on Jul 12, 2007 16:29:49 GMT 1
Looking forward to hearing how to keep them, and how much they cost too. |
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Post by mickthecactus on Jul 12, 2007 16:32:53 GMT 1
Pence from seed. Free from me.
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Post by The witch on Jul 12, 2007 16:39:51 GMT 1
Pence from seed. Free from me.  Will they stink my house out though? Do they need to be grown in a greenhouse? |
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Post by mickthecactus on Jul 12, 2007 16:51:47 GMT 1
No and no but a greenhouse is preferable although you could grow a good range on a windowsill. Indeed some have to come in for the winter because they need higher temperatures to survive.
A few are really smelly but many of them have no scent at all.
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Post by mickthecactus on Jul 13, 2007 8:59:43 GMT 1
No doubt many of you will have been up all night just waiting for this so, if you're sitting comfortably, I'll begin.
Boxing Day 1999 is a very important date in this. It was the day that I slipped a disc loading the dishwasher and meant that in summer 2000 I had to retire from cricket which I had been playing since I was 14. That freed up a lot of time and I decided to specialise more with my plants and decided on Stapeliads and Haworthias/Gasterias (which I might do another day if you're good).
I had grown the odd Stapeliad over the years but no more than that because they were not easy to get hold of, either plants or seeds and they had a reputation for being difficult. I joined a society dedicated to these plants just at the time when they appointed a brilliant new seed secretary (who, sadly now has motor neurone disease) who acquired a wide range of seed and that's what got me started. His collection is the Asclepiad-exhibition link above but he can no longer look after it and it has been passed on now.
They are all native to Africa even as far as Algeria and the Canary Isles (Caralluma burchardii) with the most weird and fascinating coming from the no go areas of Somalia and Ethiopia.
They have fantastic flowers in almost the whole spectrum of colours, including green (Caralluma dummeri) and black (Orbea melanantha) but no blue which is a very rare colour in cacti and succulents. They can be smelly and are pollinatd by flies but actually the majority have very little scent at all. Most Stapelia and Piaranthus flowers pong but I don't really notice it now. When fertilised they produce seed "horns" which eventually split and produce seeds looking rather like dandelions.
Seeds germinate quickly, usually in 48 hours or so and if nothing is up in the first 7 days it is unlikely that they will then appear. Seed only remains viable for a short while so I keep mine in the fridge if I can't sow them straight away.
More later if I can.
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Post by The witch on Jul 13, 2007 11:53:34 GMT 1
Thanks for that Mick - very interesting. Is the black flower really black? Do they bloom every year? |
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