New Cactus from Cactuslands.com

I have been scouring my local nurseries for an Ariocarpus fissuratus and a Mammillaria Hahniana to no avail for the past few months. I threw the towel in and decided to go ahead and place another internet order. After looking through the usual sites I've ordered from, I thought I'd try a different vendor. I'm happy with the selection, speed of delivery and quality of specimen from www.cactuslands.com

 






 I ended up ordering a Ariocarpus fissuratus, a Mammillaria Hahniana, a Trichocereus huascha cristata and a Gymnocalycium friedrichii. I got the shipment this past Friday and the box was full of styrofoam peanuts and the plants were individually wrapped in newspaper. There was minimal shipping damage (the Gymnocalycium spines were knocked about). The best thing about these plants is their size and health!!! I took them out of the box, cleaned them up and let them sit overnight and into the next day. It wasn't until yesterday afternoon (Saturday) when I went ahead and potted them (pictures to follow - but in the meantime, here is the Ariocarpus).

 

Not Stapelia variegata

I ordered this plant from succulents.us as "Stapelia variagata". The plant has made the transition well (keeping my fingers crossed), and the main clump has put out two flowers already. Here is the description from the website: native to Kenya and Zimbabwe, is a member of the Asclepiadaceae, or "Milkweed" family. Forms clusters of four-angled grayish-green pubescent (covered with tiny "hairs") stems. Known as "Starflower" for the star-shaped flower that can span 8" in diameter. The light yellow flower is covered with pale purplish hairs and banded transversely with burgundy striations. Requires porous soil with adequate drainage. Prefers filtered, bright light with ample airflow. Water thoroughly when soil is dry to the touch. Water less during extreme heat and during temperatures below 70 degrees Fahrenheit. Will tolerate extreme heat as long as light is not intense. Prefers winter temperatures above 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Protect from frost. If you do a google search on "Stapelia variagata" you'll see a similar plant with a different flower. This plant is a different species - I'll have to go hunting now to see what species this is. I'm not knocking www.succulents.us - they have awesome plants and communicate well - and I am going to have fun trying to identify this. This plant did come with one more surprise - the flowers smell like dog crap. When I first saw the flowers, I was thinking "man, my new neighbors got a dog and they are not picking up the dog crap". But I only smelled it when I was near this plant. Sure enough, my neighbors don't have a dog and I have my first Stapelia that smells horrible!!! AWESOME!!!