Re: Botanical bad smell problem.

[Beverly Erlebacher]

In article >,
Duncan Adams > wrote:
>
>Can anyone shed any light on this please? Perhaps point me at a likely
>culprit amongst the cacti and succulents (we have many varieties)?

Do you have any stapeliads? Stapelia spp in particular are called
'carrion flower' because of the putrid and/or sewage-like smell of
their flowers, which are fly-pollinated.

[Duncan Adams]

>
> Do you have any stapeliads?

No. We looked them up in our reference book, and we definitely don't have
any.

>Stapelia spp in particular are called
> 'carrion flower' because of the putrid and/or sewage-like smell of
> their flowers, which are fly-pollinated.

None of the cacti or succulents are flowering right now, anyway. Thanks for
trying, though. Any other ideas?

TIA

Duncan Adams.
>

[Gene Newcomb]

Duncan,

Is it possible that you have Crassula muscosa (syn. C. lycopdioides) in your
collection. Some years ago I had a similar problem and traced it to this little
beast. The leaves are small and 4 ranked and the flowers are tiny and occur
singly in the axils of the leaves. They are hardly noticeable. According to the
source I have at hand it is supposed to be a spring bloomer though. It certainly
was stinky. The species name muscosa suggests the attraction of flies.

Gene Newcomb

Duncan Adams wrote:

> Hi experts,
>
> May I bounce a problem off you? My wife I live in the UK, and we have a
> largish conservatory that is heavily stocked with a wide variety of plants.
> This conservatory is an important part of our lives - we eat breakfast in
> there in a morning, and I read in there at night.
>
> In the conservatory is a large (and very heavy) ornamental stone fountain.
> We don't use it as a fountain - it makes a superb planter for our cacti and
> succulents. In fact, it has 'pride of place'. By the side of the fountain
> is a manhole cover, and beneath that is access to our drains. Naturally,
> the manhole is kept air-tight so that drain smells do not enter the
> conservatory.
>
> Several days ago, I noticed a smell, exactly like drains. It was strongest
> in the vicinity of the manhole and the 'fountain' - naturally, I suspected
> the manhole, and I did some work on it to make absolutely sure it was
> airtight. If it wasn't before (and I believe it was), then it definitely is
> now. But the smell persists. I am completely sure it isn't my drains. So
> we have suspected the plants.
>
> We have tried removing all of the plants, except for the fountain of cacti
> and succulents (which is immovable), but that hasn't helped. So, by
> elimination, it has to be in the fountain. But we can't pinpoint the actual
> culprit (pointing one's nose amongst cacti is hazardous, to say the least).
> I should add that being a fountain, the bowls we have planted have no
> drainage in them, so we are sparing with the water. We have excavated right
> down to the bottom of the bowls, between cacti, and there is no trace of
> excess water, and the soil smells as it should.
>
> It is also significant (I think) that the smell is almost completely absent
> first thing in the morning (just before sunrise), and it is at its most
> intense later in the day. I know that plants metabolise differently during
> the day and night cycles, so I now suspect this cyclicity of the smell is
> further evidence of a botanical source.
>
> Can anyone shed any light on this please? Perhaps point me at a likely
> culprit amongst the cacti and succulents (we have many varieties)?
>
> TIA
>
> Duncan Adams

[Dave]

Duncan,

If you'll allow one more possibility for the drain-as-culprit theory...We
get that in one of our changing rooms at work. Every so often the water in
the drain trap gets too low, allowing open access to the sewer. Filling the
drain trap with water eliminates the problem. So you might try pouring a
bucket of water down the drain.


Dave Knorr

[Duncan Adams]

Thanks for all the help, people. We've now found the problem. It was a
spider plant that was very high up in the conservatory, and which the wife
had been watering with a lance. She could never actually see the soil. It
turned out to be completely waterlogged and when I tried to get it down from
the shelf it spilled on me. Instant un-scheduled bath time. It's quite
unbelievable the stench it made.

Thanks again for all the input.

Duncan Adams.


"Duncan Adams" > wrote in message
...
> Hi experts,
>
> May I bounce a problem off you? My wife I live in the UK, and we have a
> largish conservatory that is heavily stocked with a wide variety of
plants.
> This conservatory is an important part of our lives - we eat breakfast in
> there in a morning, and I read in there at night.
>
> In the conservatory is a large (and very heavy) ornamental stone fountain.
> We don't use it as a fountain - it makes a superb planter for our cacti
and
> succulents. In fact, it has 'pride of place'. By the side of the
fountain
> is a manhole cover, and beneath that is access to our drains. Naturally,
> the manhole is kept air-tight so that drain smells do not enter the
> conservatory.
>
> Several days ago, I noticed a smell, exactly like drains. It was
strongest
> in the vicinity of the manhole and the 'fountain' - naturally, I suspected
> the manhole, and I did some work on it to make absolutely sure it was
> airtight. If it wasn't before (and I believe it was), then it definitely
is
> now. But the smell persists. I am completely sure it isn't my drains.
So
> we have suspected the plants.
>
> We have tried removing all of the plants, except for the fountain of cacti
> and succulents (which is immovable), but that hasn't helped. So, by
> elimination, it has to be in the fountain. But we can't pinpoint the
actual
> culprit (pointing one's nose amongst cacti is hazardous, to say the
least).
> I should add that being a fountain, the bowls we have planted have no
> drainage in them, so we are sparing with the water. We have excavated
right
> down to the bottom of the bowls, between cacti, and there is no trace of
> excess water, and the soil smells as it should.
>
> It is also significant (I think) that the smell is almost completely
absent
> first thing in the morning (just before sunrise), and it is at its most
> intense later in the day. I know that plants metabolise differently
during
> the day and night cycles, so I now suspect this cyclicity of the smell is
> further evidence of a botanical source.
>
> Can anyone shed any light on this please? Perhaps point me at a likely
> culprit amongst the cacti and succulents (we have many varieties)?
>
> TIA
>
> Duncan Adams
>
>