Botanical bad smell problem.
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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. |
Botanical bad smell problem.
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. |
Botanical bad smell problem.
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 |
Botanical bad smell problem.
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 |
Botanical bad smell problem.
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 |
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