Great thread! Thanks for adding all the info, Mara; your plants look VERY nice. I was going to mention the same thing, about propagation being done by seed, not from cuttings. I haven't tested that theory for myself but, looking at mine, I can't imagine making any cuts. The point where each branch meets the main stem is very thick. Most of the other Ascleps break into segments easily. In my experience with Ascleps, cuttings must be taken at the point of segmentation; any segment cut through the middle will die. Yours, Mara, are most likely 2 different plants, grown from seed. That means you can get some horns if they ever bloom together! I only have 1. Stush, I don't have much to add except that I grow mine in a sunny spot right next to my stacking Crassulas. It seems to like plenty of light.

Probably soil temperature is the key here. Lucky for me I have a balcony where the surface temp's get up into the 110-120 degree range (40-50 degrees centigrade)in Summer. By the time they come in for their Winter break I have not watered them, Mother Nature may have, for a couple weeks and they are relatively dry. Once inside they will not see a temperature lower than 55-65 degrees (15 degrees centigrade) all Winter and will not get any water unless Fall is very sunny and runs all the way into December. You generally can tell when they stop growing as they stop bending toward the light. By this time they are bone dry and the temp's are very low outside and the temp's inside are in the 15 degree centigrade range and the air is extremely dry. Plants on the floor or on a window sill will have a temperature that can be 10 degrees lower than the room temperature and in some cases 30 degrees lower than the room temperature if up against a glass window or outside wall. These cacti or succulents will only survive if kept absolutely dry before these temp's are experienced. It's a big trick we play every Winter in keeping these spiny children alive in less than desirable conditions. Joe

I mixed a richer than normal but draining soil. I kept mine in partsahade when I got it and watered it once a week. I took it inside when lows got around 40. and brought it out whenlows were around 40. Now it is in morew than half day TEXAS sun. We are bumping 100 and HUMID this year. No sign of sun stress. I fertilized it in the spring with a fish fertilizer for more blooms. I forget the numbers. I mixed it up at 1/4 or 1/2 strength. It bloomed. The blooms will not come out of the top. They will come from the sides. where there is a "dimple" in the ridges, where a ridge momentarily ends and then starts back up. No one told me this and I stared a long time at the top last summer thinking it was going to bloom. LOL. Once it does that spot will put out multiple blooms. Now I am staring at all the "dimples" looking for tiny bud formations. I will my plants to perform by staring, don't you?. Did you see the first Bloom of my H. gordonii that I showed a slideshow of.

There are several Hoodia species that are available quite often as seed but you need to look in the right places or belong to the right clubs to have access to them. Hoodia flava, Hoodia prolifera and Hoodia ruschii are fairly common but Hoodia gordonii is now less commonly found for sale. This is not an easy genus of plants to grow so make sure to do some research. There is an interesting article in Asklepios magazine issue #91 about the errorous use of Hoodia. Apparently people were harvesting the exotic south American cactus Trichocereus spachianus that has become naturalized in areas of Botswana Africa. If you know anything about cactus chemistry this is pretty funny to say the least. Take a look at the International Asclepiad Society as well if you are really interested in this family of plants. Mike Here is a link that might be useful: asclepiad exhibition