Starfish Cactus is the Heat-Loving Succulent You Should Grow This Summer—Here's How

Starfish flower is a succulent perennial known for its large, hair-covered blooms. Native to South Africa, this plant gets its other common name, carrion flower, from the fact that its inflorescence gives off an aroma reminiscent of rotting meat to attract pollinating flies.

Starfish flower prefers bright sunlight, warm temperatures, and sandy, well-drained potting mix. It can be grown indoors year-round in temperate climates or outdoors in subtropical climates where temperatures stay above 40°F.

Common Name	Starfish cactus, carrion plant, African starfish flower
Botanical Name	Stapelia hirsuta
Family	Apocynaceae
Plant Type	Succulent, perennial
Mature Size	8 in. tall and wide
Sun Exposure	Full, partial
Soil Type	Sandy, well-drained
Soil pH	Neutral
Bloom Time	Summer, fall
Flower Color	Purple, red
Hardiness Zones	10b-11b (USDA)
Native Area	Southern Africa

Starfish Cactus Care

Here's how to care for starfish flower in your home or garden:

• Put in a place with full to partial sunlight.
• Plant in gritty, well-drained potting mix.
• Water sparingly during the growing season and avoid watering in winter.
• Fertilize infrequently with cactus fertilizer in spring and summer.

Want more gardening tips? Sign up for our free gardening newsletter for our best-growing tips, troubleshooting hacks, and more!

Light

Starfish flower grows best with at least six hours of bright, direct sunlight each day. That means full sun conditions outdoors or a bright, sunny window indoors.

Plants can also tolerate partial sun, or two to six hours of direct sunlight per day.

Soil

Plant starfish flower in a gritty, sandy potting mix that drains and dries quickly. You can amend cactus-specific potting mix with ingredients like pumice, coarse sand, and perlite to lighten up the mix and increase drainage.

Avoid too much organic matter in the soil, which can hold excess moisture and increase the chance of root rot. A thin layer of pea gravel on top of the soil surface can help prevent starfish flower's succulent stems from getting waterlogged.

Water

Starfish flower is extremely drought tolerant and grows best with infrequent watering during the spring and summer growing season. When you do water, make sure that the soil absorbs water, and apply enough so that it flows out of the holes in the bottom of the pot.

Let the soil dry out completely before watering again. When temperatures cool in winter, stop watering and wait until early spring to resume.

Temperature and Humidity

Keep warmth-loving starfish flower in a place with temperatures above 50°F in winter. During the growing season, this plant's ideal temperature range is between 70°F and 95°F.

Note that extreme heat beyond this range may impact plant growth. This plant prefers drier air rather than humid conditions.

Fertilizer

It's not necessary to fertilize your starfish flower. However, you may apply cactus fertilizer, which is low in nitrogen, diluted to half strength once or twice during the growing season. Avoid fertilizing this plant in fall or winter.

Growing Starfish Cactus From Cuttings

Starfish cactus is simple to propagate by taking stem cuttings from a healthy mother plant. You'll have the best chance of success propagating in the spring or summer during active growth.

Before you begin, gather small plant pots or containers, sterilized pruners or a sharp knife, and gritty cactus potting mix. Here's how to grow starfish cactus from cuttings.

1. Choose a healthy stem from the mother plant. Use your pruners or knife to make a clean cut at the base of the stem.
2. Leave the cutting in a warm, shady spot for a few days to allow the cut end to callus over.
3. When the stem has callused, fill a plant pot or shallow tray with the same gritty potting mix you'd use for an adult starfish cactus. Moisten the potting mix slightly.
4. Lay the cuttings parallel to the soil surface so that they are on top of rather than buried in the soil.
5. Keep the cuttings in a warm place with bright, indirect light. When the soil has completely dried out, you can water extremely lightly, such as by misting the soil surface with a spray bottle.
6. After anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, you'll see roots growing from the cut end of the starfish cactus stem. Once roots appear, you can pot up the cuttings in gritty mix and care for them as usual.
   

How to Get Starfish Cactus to Flower

Starfish cactus is more likely to bloom when you can mimic its natural conditions in your home or garden during the summer and fall bloom periods. That means warmth (but not too much heat) during the day with cooler nights, long periods of drought followed by water, and lots of bright, direct sunlight.

It's also a good idea to avoid stressing your plant or changing its conditions suddenly once flowers have set to prevent bud drop. Note that it may take a couple of years for newly established plants to bloom.

Expect blooms to last anywhere from a couple of days to one week. The large, starfish-shaped flowers in shades of deep red are covered with tiny hairs and give off a powerful aroma that many people find unpleasant. This rotting meat smell is designed to attract pollinating flies to the flower.

Tip

Starfish flowers can smell like rotting meat at full bloom. To manage the odor, many gardeners bring their plants outside during the summer.

What to Do After Your Starfish Cactus Flowers

After starfish flowers fade, you can remove blooms by cutting them away with sterilized pruners at the base of the flower stem.

Tips

• Pot starfish plant in terra cotta or other unglazed clay pots, which wick away moisture and help soil dry out quickly.
• It's better to underwater than overwater this plant. Shriveled or wrinkled stems are a sign that your starfish cactus could use a drink.
• Avoid repotting until your plant's roots fill the soil surface. Potbound plants may be more likely to produce flowers.
• Wait until night temperatures are above 50 degrees in late spring or early summer to bring plants outside. Gradually acclimate them to brighter outdoor conditions to prevent shock.

From: thespruce