Hi all! I'm looking to regrow my collection before I move, and I've been looking for good sources. Seems a lot of places have dried up since I looked last time several years ago. Any ideas? If only I could go back in time, my shopping problems would be solved LOL.

Julianna,
Two good sources;
Bob Smoley's Gardenworld and Glasshouse Works. Prices are low and some do come without roots so you have to have the right conditions to grow them this winter season coming a pond us.
http://www.bobsmoleys.com/a-b....
http://www.glasshouseworks.com...
Come spring, I can give you some cuttings of my collection for postage.
Stush

Hi, Stush! How weird, I didn't get a notification for this! I wasn't ignoring you :)

I would love some cuttings for postage! Those are the two sources I have mainly been looking at. I ordered from both in the past with good results, although a lot of my collection died when I went overseas to work for a summer and the plant sitter turned out to be a plant murderer. Epiphytic cacti has some following, although not as much as some other types of plants. I joined some ec groups, and maybe I can begin to work my way up again. I don't know why I love them so much-- but the forms, the blooms.. all of them are pleasing to me-- even the most odd and ungangly.

Julianna,
In the group Asclepiads, which Stapeliads are members, I have these Huernia plants. They are smaller growing and thier flowers are not much bigger than a quarter. They almost look like tiny Cholla Cactus but very soft to the toutch.
Below is the first blooms I ever got from one.



I have about 4 different ones now. Only two big enouht to cut stems from. And my Stapelia flavoristris bloomed also for the first time.



The other one is a Stapelia Gigantea that hasn't bloomed in awhile. It has the large yellow starfish flowers. Never did go to seed when they did bloom for me. Unknow why.





Stush

Nice! I have H. schneideriana, but not the rest. They are so cool to me. What I love the most is actually the texture of the stems-- whether fuzzy or almost spiky. I do like Asclepiads is general (I have a hoya in my limited collection as well-- publicalyx "pink silver" which I love-- it's small but a workhorse. I need to repot it!). There are some genera and habits that I think I just about like everything in it... all the way up to the family or subfamily level. :)

Your plants are just gorgeous. I've found that even though the huernia supposedly like some shade, mine bloom better in a sunnier location, especially if the pot is crowded. Maybe stress/maturity?

I just got two new ones to my collection. Very small right now. A nice light yellow one that is noID. So we call it H. Yellow. and H. zebrina.




The closest we can come up with is Huernia 'Stretched Hide' ISI 2013-23 which is a hybrid of H. thuretii var. primulina. Just guessing. Can't find anything else close. So it is a hybrid of something.

Oh wow, those are just gorgeous! I love the stripes and the texture of the first one, but the pale peachy yellow of the second is also attractive! In addition, you have nice coloration!

The sun is sinking, so I've moved my huernia out of the south windowsill to the stand below that. When the sun is high, the building is angled such that it's actually not getting full sunlight most of the time right on it. But now, it is turning pink/yellow It's still blooming nicely.

Those are amazing !

Thanks for including the first pic. I've always wondered why most pics of people's stapelia flowers don't look like the "lifesaver candy" flowers I have seen in books....

Bev,
I beleive Hirts Greenhouse sells one called Lifesaver Cactus. It is a Huernia, which is a smaller cousin of Stapelia.

Thanks, Stush!

Yep! The lifesaver plant is a Huernia

is huernia today... It's had flowers on it almost all the time since the first one came some 4 months ago... ...
The second picture is Edithcolen Grandis ...this is a new one for me called the Persian Carpet Flower.. It came from Logees.com ..I,ll post it's picture from my other machine.. And this Stapella... Many dozens of. Blooms this summer... I have a question on this one though...it blooms yellow as you see... I took a cutting of this and rooted it.. And gave it too an friend...hers blooms almost red .. From the same plant...

here's the persain carpets flower from the logees catalog

Wow, different and interesting!

Very nice, Gordon!

I too have seen the blooms of S. gigantea running from yellow to red. I am also not sure why that happens-- I had wondered if it was natural variation or soil/cultural conditions, and since you said a cutting off your plant had a different bloom with a different person, maybe it's the latter?

Oh...here's a better picture of huernia ...sorry

Love it!

yes the yellow flowers on my Stapella.. and my friends red flowers from a cutting of my plant was strange... also I feed mine a bunch more than she does... perhaps another reason for the change... I am pleased to have you say you've encountered a similar behavior... maybe soil or other enviornmental considerations.. thanks Julianna..
CareBear... interesting yellow flower there...

Gordon,
I saw a picture on another web and asked for a stem. He sent me two stems and a bunch of other plants to boot. I mailed him back a bunch as well. Good trade. Both of us never saw a clear yellow before and most can't ID it. We believe it must be a hybrid of a yellow kind.
Also never heard of a Stapelia Gigantea (yellow) producing a Stapelia Grandiflora (red) before. Not from a stem cutting. Maybe seeds. Would love to know what went on. It's like finding the missing link. Short of chemicals or what have you, Soil, sun, environment should not do this.

Stush