Here is a photo of stages of my starfish cactus from bud to bloom. It was beautiful.

Very pretty! Is this the Stapelia gigantea? Nice!

@ Gothicgardener, you might want to put these pictures in the database! Very nice!

Thanks! It is a stapelia gigantea. I had it for many years and this is the first year it bloomed!

Congrats! It is beautiful, and with Hetty…Add these to the DB!!!!

Thank you! I just added it to the DB along with another one! I love it when my plants reward me with flowers.

Lovely bloom! Thanks for sharing it! So does it smell?

Goth,
Is this the only stapelia you have? They have some in almost black or dark red/purple. I ordered seeds of all different kinds and hope to get many colors. Only problem, it takes years to see results. Check trades.
Stush

This is the only stapelia I have. How are your new plants doing? I started mine from a cutting.

Watch for rot during winter time. During spring is the best time to start with stem cuttings. I wanted a lot of different colors so the best way is to grow from seed.

I barely water mine in the winter. I've been growing this one for years and haven't had a problem with rot yet.

My seeds were just planted yesterday. In a few days I'll post a picture of them. I went hog wild this time. I need help stopping myself! Got some fancy aloe hybrids and Duckia fancy mix. Also sending for Clivia seeds next. The variegated kind from China. Got to stop myself soon. No space or room.

Same here lol I trade on gardenweb.com. I have traded my stapelia cuttings many times over the years. If you go there you can get unusual seeds or cuttings from trades. I got most of my black flower garden seeds from traders!
@tarev it smells horrible! I picked it off my plant the next day, because it made my whole house stink. If it bloomed while it was still warm out, then it wouldn't have been so bad, because the plant is outside.

Thanks gothicgardener, I was wondering about that, since the pic showed it is growing indoors heheh! A stinky beauty

Yeah, not exactly a flower you'd give your mom, lol....

Good luck, Stush - looking forward to pics!

Goth,
There's a lot of us here from G.W. Didn't see your name before, or you may have used a different one. Made good friends both places. Seems gardeners are the nicest people.
Thanks for the encouragement all.

@Stush2019 I go by another name on G.W. I'm tamelastar. I hang out in the trade sections, citrus, and this time of year winter sowing.

How do you do