GASTERIA – ORIGINAL FROM AFRICA

© Author: Nikolay KHROMOV

GASTERIA – WHAT IT IS

Gasteria – Photo

Succulents – is a common name for a whole group of plants, who may not be related to each other at all, even distant. What unites them, so this is it, that they grow in desert and arid regions, and moisture can accumulate in large quantities in special types of fabrics. Because of these tissues, their trunks and branches often acquire a characteristic thick, fleshy form. Examples include cacti, aloe, kalanchoe, agave, spurge and many other similar plants.

Gasteria – it's a succulent, many saw it on the windows of grandmothers or on the window sills of libraries, but we didn’t even imagine, what exactly is this plant called?.

Gasteria seems to have moved in time; Seems, dinosaurs trampled it with their paws, it looks so atypical for modern plants.

Hard, leaf blades with rough surface, very clear, having jagged edges and a speckled pattern – all this makes the plant just an ideal succulent. To many, gasteria resembles the more familiar aloe, however the biggest difference between them is – This is a two-row arrangement of leaf blades. The leaves of Gasteria are pressed quite tightly against each other., form a kind of rosette, around which there are a significant number of children.

Gasteria is native to South Africa., and belongs – this is where many will be surprised – to the lily family.

All types of gasteria – these are succulents, which will grow like home, and on a rocky hill.

The four most common and best known species of gasteria are:, This is Gasteria Armstrong, Gasteria verrucosa, Gasteria spotted and Gasteria soddy. Perhaps, Gasteria turf is the most common. This species has extended leaf blades, which are arranged in transverse rows. They are dark green in color and have a large number of greenish-white spots on their surface..

Marvelous, but gasteria is still blooming; as an adult, she can show her flowers at any time of the year. They look like scarlet, and pink, have green tips and are arranged in rather loose panicles. Flowers are tubular and drooping, similar to those of aloe.

Gasteria can be propagated by children, To do this they need to be carefully separated, cut off their bases, dip the bottom part first into the Kornevin solution, and then into charcoal and press the base into the ground.

Soil for cacti is suitable for gasteria., Well, it’s better to place it on the southern windowsill.

It grows quite quickly and is not whimsical., usually within a year it is clearly noticeable, that she has gained height.

In summer and winter, you need to provide the gasteria with plenty of light., but don't put it in direct sunlight – they can cause excessive growth, the leaves will stretch out and lose their harmony.

In winter it is better to place the gasteria in a cool place, where is the temperature around 16 degrees.

Too frequent watering is not necessary. From May to the end of September you can water once a week., after the soil dries, well, during the summer a couple of times a week. From October to end of November, and also from March to the end of April, watering once a month is enough, priming, in fact, must be dry all this time.

Feeding gasteria is necessary once a month throughout the year.. Any fertilizer for succulents will do., strictly follow the instructions on the packaging.

To transplant into a new container, you can prepare the soil mixture yourself: take two parts of turf soil, part of leaf soil, often peat soil and part of river sand, for drainage, you can put a handful of expanded clay at the base of the pot.

If you don't want to bother, then you can buy soil for succulents and plant it there with a lump of earth.

GASTERIA BORODAVCHATAYA: ZIMOVKA

Winter Gaster

My warty Gasteria spent the whole summer outdoors. The succulent plant loves the sun and prefers to grow in the southern, southwest, southeast and west window sills. With the onset of heat, I take the plant out into fresh air in cloudy weather, but not for long, I teach to the sun gradually. When I grew only in an apartment, never had burns, from which the leaf turns white, dries up and the plant loses its decorative appearance.

Summer, in direct light, dark green leaves take on a brick shade, which gradually disappears in the fall.

WINTER GASTERIA IN COOL

In winter, I provide the plant with a temperature of about +10 city, and from November to January I do not water. In February, to wake up, I start to spray with warm water, then - water.

FROM MARCH I feed (on wet ground) times in 2-3 weeks fertilizer for cacti or universal in dosage, in 3-4 times less than the recommended.

Thanks to the dry, cold wintering, Gasteria begins to lay flower stalks in the spring.

IF GASTERIA WINTERS IN THE WARM

Now I have no opportunity to provide a cold winter. At a higher temperature, I move gastria close to the window pane. I water poorly once a month, I do not feed. As a result, she stopped blooming..

And then summer holidays on the street came to the rescue. As soon as the temperature is set from + 10 degrees, and higher, no rains, I put the plant out the window. Such conditions of detention contribute to flowering.

This year, the formation of peduncles fell on a sharp cooling with rains., and they dried up. In bad weather I put the plant under a canopy or bring it into the apartment, so that the roots do not rot.

GASTERIA – CARE AND WATERING: VIDEO

© Author: Veronica BORUSEVICH