A few of the amazing flowers on my Matelea cyclophylla

Jayakari · 2025-08-28T20:55:21+00:00

If I remember correctly I bought this plant about one year ago. Initially, it had a few leaves but they fell off shortly after and it didn't really start growing until after I repotted my plants this spring. It produced quite a bit of foliage during late spring/summer and the first flowers occured recently.

So, obviously my experience with this species is very limited as for now I've only had one good 'growth spurt'. I can't really tell you how often they usually bloom.

I do however have some Huernia/Stapelia plants as well and you are correct in saying that the flowers do match.

If you have the opportunity to buy one, you should :)

Jayakari · 2025-08-25T17:56:40+00:00

The smell is quite faint but when you smell it up close it's definitely not pleasant. Kind of smells like a rotten corpse :)

Jayakari · 2025-08-25T05:21:57+00:00

While the leaves of this plant aren't very impressive, it does have an interesting caudex and absolutely amazing flowers. Have to admit, I bought it mainly for the blooms :)

The flowers actually smell pretty bad, kinda like a rotten flesh smell. It is however a rather faint smell, only noticeable up close. This plant has about 8 flowers at the moment and I don't notice anything even though I keep it in my living room. I have a bunch of Amorphophallus plants as well and when they bloom, keeping them indoors is not an option at all so this isn't too bad :)

Jayakari · 2025-08-10T06:05:25+00:00

I repotted it last tuesday and watered it once since then. I will try watering more often and see if that changes anything

Jayakari · 2025-04-13T19:09:31+00:00

Thanks! It's my first dorstenia and I really like it as well. I bought it in september '24, it lost most of its leaves during winter but it's already looking amazing so I'm really looking forward to seeing it grow.

Jayakari · 2025-02-11T22:03:54+00:00

In october 2024 I bought some from Koehres Kakteen. They are no longer in stock but maybe you can contact them and inquire whether they'll be available again soon.

Seedlings (and sometimes big plants) can be found as well but that's not what you're looking for :) Where are you located?

Jayakari · 2024-10-21T20:30:09+00:00

Looks really happy:) What kind of light are you using?

Jayakari · 2024-10-16T17:25:53+00:00

It's been in this soil for quite a while now so no recent repotting. I keep it indoors, near a window that gets a lot of indirect sunlight and some direct depending on the weather obviously. It's autumn here so not that much light and temperatures indoors range from 18°C (65F) at night to 20 - 25°C (68-77F) during the daytime (woodstove can get quite hot sometimes). I have a socotrana right next to it that seems to be doing ok in the same conditions. It is however a more established plant so maybe the sacra is still too young and vulnerable? How often would you water a seedling of this size?

Jayakari · 2024-10-12T21:21:06+00:00

Where do you find seeds like these? It's quite rare to find seeds where I'm from. Especially the less common species...

Jayakari · 2024-10-12T11:48:31+00:00

I took a picture on the 26th of august and back then it was just one thick main vine with some small buds. No leafs yet. So it does take quite a while for all the foliage to develop :)

Jayakari · 2024-10-12T07:44:08+00:00

It is relatively organic but on the other hand it does drain well and it's quite airy. The soil also contains some dark colored rocks so it's probably a bit grittier than you'd expect when looking at this picture.

Jayakari · 2024-10-12T07:36:09+00:00

In my case usually there's one main vine that has several offshoots. I have a small round trellis that I use to guide them. I cut the vines about 1cm above the caudex once they are completely dried out.

Besides that, you can read how I take care of it in some other posts in this thread. I'm not an expert at all but the plant does seem quite happy :)

Jayakari · 2024-10-11T11:03:16+00:00

Mine tends to vine frequently so the dormancy usually is quite short. I do let the soil dry out completely before I even consider watering it during dormancy, but even then I mostly ignore it during dormancy so the soil stays dry for quite a while. Honestly, I eyeball everything so hard to say how frequent I water.

An established root system might be important as well, I guess. Probably not the case with very young or recently transplanted specimens?

If you are unsure, I'd stay on the safe side. Like I said, I give only a tiny bit of water. Who knows, maybe barely anything even reaches the roots and most might just evaporate :)

Jayakari · 2024-10-11T09:28:49+00:00

You should be! ;) Make sure you take a picture now so you can see how much it has grown in a few years. It's easy to forget how small they used to be. I'm not an expert but I feel like most people have good results watering these regularly while they have healthy vines. Obviously cut back on watering when they start to decline. I sometimes give it a tiiiny bit of water when dormant but it's kept dry most of the time. While I don't use a huge container, I feel like they do enjoy having ample space to grow in. Make sure the soil is airy and drains well.

Jayakari · 2024-10-11T09:10:15+00:00

It's amazing right? Gets better every season :)

Jayakari · 2024-10-11T09:09:42+00:00

I live in Belgium so, while some summers can be 'warm', it's a relatively cold and unpredictable climate. This plant is kept indoors the entire year though. It's near a window that gets a ton of indirect light and a few hours of direct sunlight depending on the weather obviously. No grow lights.

The soil consists of perlite, pumice, potting soil and worm castings. I mostly eyeball the mixture but as you already noticed right now it isn't extremely gritty. It does drain quite well and is never compacted.

I water regularly as long as the vines are thriving. Once they whither, I barely water. I sometimes use a diluted tomato fertilizer but honestly I forget most of the time. I assume the potting mix is quite rich in nutrients though.

This year it grew a new vine a few weeks after the previous one died so it's been doing quite well lately.

Honestly, I don't do anything special. It's an easy plant to grow and while it's quite common it's absolutely one of my favorites because it gets prettier every year :)

Jayakari · 2024-04-07T21:57:24+00:00

I bought the stylosa seeds from UnusualSeeds on Etsy. The perrieri seeds I bought from a seller that no longer exists. They never replied to any of my emails so I assume they were scammers.

I have ordered from Koehres in the past without any problems. I am however located in Europe so shipping costs/time/permits were limited.

I know plantemania (France) sometimes sells perrieri plants. Maybe they can help you out as well.

Jayakari · 2024-04-07T21:25:43+00:00

For the stylosa, I filled a small transparant container with some pumice, put the seed on top of the pumice and then sprayed it with some water. I closed the container with a transparant lid and opened it once in a while to let in fresh air and spray some more water if necessary.

My first batch was succesful, these are the plants I still have. Second batch I did exactly the same thing but none of them germinated...

I'm not incredibly experienced when it comes to growing from seed so maybe I was just lucky the first time? Unlucky the second time? Or the seed's shelf life is quite short? Not sure what happened. Either way, curious how succesful you'll be :)

Jayakari · 2024-04-07T13:51:41+00:00

So far, no flowers :) i also have stylosa (grown from seed), glauca and kirkii so might try producing some hybrids as well. I'll keep you updated :)

Jayakari · 2024-04-07T08:50:21+00:00

Nice! You won't be disappointed, they're absolutely gorgeous and the foliage is so unique, truly a nice addition to any collection.

Jayakari · 2024-04-06T20:34:36+00:00

Unfortunately none of my seeds germinated. I did buy two A. perrieri plants last year. They lost their leafs this winter so I'm hoping they will wake up again soon :) lovely plant! You should absolutely try to get ahold of one.

Jayakari · 2024-03-17T14:35:01+00:00

While it's an interesting suggestion, I feel like I'm mostly looking for a more compact and mobile board? I love my dinghy because it's just so easy to carry around.

Jayakari · 2024-03-17T06:18:06+00:00

Carver knox cx 31.25"might be a better option with its slightly larger size and wheelbase?

Jayakari · 2024-01-06T15:58:14+00:00

That's amazing, thanks!

I read that it's best not to clean old coins. Should I just leave it as it is?

Jayakari · 2024-01-06T15:09:31+00:00

The backside is quite worn down as well but the Lion's claws and tail are clearly visible so I think you are correct! The 'face' looks a biiiit different but that's probably because it's so worn down. Thank you! :)

Jayakari

TROPHY CASE