One of the most amazing features that cactus (succulents in general) have is their strength and capabilities of surviving some treacherous conditions, both human made or nature ones. This particular case involves kind of both threats.
A few months back (if my memory is not failing, it was two months ago) I was walking down the street, minding my business. I have the habit of constantly look the floor while walking, rather than keep my eye on the sky or other stuff. That's what helped me stumble to a familiar looking plant that maybe two years ago would not ring any bells.
It happened to be a Stapelia grandiflora. A beautiful succulent plant but with a very stinky flower (most related species share this "particular" quality). It looked wrecked, as if it had been on the limb for a couple of weeks. I believe so because succulents have the ability to survive when not planted, while most of the vegetal life needs constant soil and water. This one was dry as hell, with hardened roots and even a stem all "rotty". It was both a happy moment and also a sad one, because even though plants "don't feel", I believe they still hustle for survival. And this poor fella was sure going trough a rough time.
My first reaction was looking nearby for a broken pot or something, because I thought it may have fell from a balcony or so. But didn't see anything even close to a pot, nor dirt scattered trough the sidewalk. So I picked it up and took it with me.
The next day I took a closer look at it, and didn't find signs of any visible plague. I thought maybe it was too late for it to be saved, as there had been really really hot days during October. Perhaps the dehydration did it's job and took the stapelia's last "breath". But I decided to try luck and see where it goes. I planted it, didn't water it because I wanted to give the plant a few days of adapting to the soil (which wasn't all completely dry, so some water could've been taken up if the roots managed to survive).
I kept in that condition for almost three days, and that's when I first watered it. The plant was placed in a semi-light condition and that was it. Everything that could've done was done. It was just time to wait.
A week after that, the "rotten" stem didn't show any signs of recovery, so I cut it just in case it would get worse and spread disease all over the plant. A few weeks passed and to my (happy) surprise, the Stapelia showed signs of life. A very tiny greenish tone was popping at the top of the remaining stems, which is a sign of growth.
At that time all doubt was put aside. The plant was alive. So I kept it in the same spot for a few more weeks and when I thought it was timely, moved it to the "wild" (the balcony where my mini cactus jungle is growing). It now lives on the balcony, below a cloth that filters direct sunlight. Even new growing from the sides are appearing, an indication that the plant is happy where it is, glowing beauty after its' close encounter with death.
I'll leave a final picture, where you can see at the left side the condition it was found, and on the left it's current state. What an amazing world the one of the succulents is. Strong plants that struggle to survive even the most adverse conditions.
