Orbea Variegata (Former name Stapelia Variegata)

It is now the start of a very hot Autumn and my Orbea Variegata is still blooming and has been all the way through summer. It is much more sun sensitive than its cousins (Stapelia) and can shrivel and burn when placed in too much sun. These are summer active plants, pale green with dark purple spots. Keep almost dry in winter and only water sparingly, it does not tolerate freezing temperatures. 

Seed pods develop after summer flowering and can take as long as 6 months to mature and open, exposing tiny fluffy seeds inside. The pods are up to around 8-10cm tall and around 1.5cm wide and can be used to start a fresh crop! Some say you can tie a lightweight mesh around the pods to catch the seeds, I’ve waited too long but managed to catch almost all the seeds from the second pod.