Native to the deserts of South-Africa, Stapelia gigantean, also called large Zulu flower or flower, creates starfish-shaped flowers with pale-yellow petals striped with bands that are reddish. The starfish flowers emit an offensive odor to attract pollinators like flies. The green stems tinted with develop up right but perhaps not really tall. This succulent plant can produce an intriguing focal point in a water conservation backyard. The starfish flower needs minimum treatment blossom and to develop.
Locate a place with just as much light as possible throughout the day. Dig a hole one foot deep using a shovel and pour a bucket of water to the hole. Let the water totally refill the hole and drain away. Measure the quantity of water drained after 1-5 minutes and multiply by four. In the event the drainage is less than 1-inch an hour don’t plant the flower. Break the soil up having a garden hoe to the depth of the flower container.
Dig a hole a tiny bit broader in relation to the container and as deep as. Measure the soil that is removed and add 1 component of sand for every 2 elements of soil. Mix in a cup of tiny pebbles to enhance the drainage. Plant the flower as deep as they were developing inside their container. Firm the soil throughout the plant.
Soak the soil round the bottom of the plant. Keep the soil throughout the flower moist throughout the growing period. Stop watering subsequent to the flower fades. Keep the plant dry through the winter. Place a short-term shelter including an overturned plant pot across the crops to safeguard the flower.
Feed the flower in the beginning of the period using a well-balanced fertilizer at half-strength. Blossom creation will be encouraged by this.
Check the plant stems for aphids and mealy bugs. Knock any backyard pests off using a powerful jet of water. Look for stem rot, which may occur when this succulent is exposed to water that is too much. Cut the contaminated stems out using a knife and toss a-way them.