City Cactus - Please help identify!

[CactusFanDan]

Looks like it should open within a day or two. It's very likely it will stink, I'm not joking when I say to move it outside or somewhere well ventilated.

[Tony]

Dans right... get it outside!

[BrooklynBabe]

Took a full 2 weeks to bloom, but here it is. It's this plant's first flower. The hairy monster opened up right before my eyes this morning - It just went, "Poof!" 2 hours ago while I was sitting at my desk having coffee.

I think this is definitely the "gigantea" variety. The flower is a full 8.5" tip to tip. That's about as big as the entire plant! Also, it does have a putrid (rotten meat) odor if you get up close to take a whiff - Hence the name, "Carrion Flower" - Beautiful, nonetheless. I've placed it out on my fire escape for a little while so a bee/fly can pollenate. Unfortunately, there's a storm brewing today and I may have to bring it back in if winds pick up.

Thanks for sharing this experience with me!!

[greenknight]

I had a smaller-flowered one, couldn't smell anything until I stuck my nose right up close to it. Then I wished I hadn't.

[BrooklynBabe]

Well, the fun is over for now but I wanted to share a few observations.

This plant originally had a reddish hue on the side where the flower formed. This was due to this side to the plant facing direct sun. The velvety surface was no longer velvety, but smooth, where it was reddish. After spending (what, a week?) on my (no sunlight) fire escape, while the stinky flower (smelled like a dead mouse - ugh!!) underwent pollenation (by nasty black/green flies - ugh, again!!), the smooth reddish surfaces REVERTED back to velvety green!! Amazing!!

Some of the tips look black or very dark - At first, I thought they were damaged by fungus or dried out. I checked them out with a magnifier and they are fine, just very dark. Actually, you can see it in the original plant - It just wasn't as noticeable with the reddish hue. I'm sure it's just due to the photosynthesis process. It's amazing the difference a little sun makes. (I put a yellow grafted moon cactus in the sun and it turned a bright orange within 10 days!!)

You can also see where the huge flower fell off and I now count 4 additional blooms of stinky flowers coming in - It's going to be a long Summer. While I prefer to keep my plants indoors (no gnat infestations for me, thank you), I'll have to make an exception and move this one outside whenever it blooms. I've already sprinkled a little systemic in the soil just in case.

[hoteidoc]

Welcome, CitiCacti! My 1st "cactus" was a Euphorbia trigonis -- because it had spines! & it was another 6 yrs before I caught the "cactus bug" & found out it wasn't As you have noticed, a number of us don't have a cactus for an avatar & yours is beautiful

[Eutow_Intermedium]

Dude this thread looks like it was started in 2007. darn !

They both have nice flowers , but that second plant ,they are huge. I used to have a Stapelia years ago. Think it was Flavirostris.

I realy need to get one of these back in my collection.

*nods*

[coldcactusmontreal]

Oh no! this makes me think mine won't bloom this year. But maybe it's just not the same kind. I haven't seen it flower yet! Best of luck, my O. variegata should be opening in the next week