Description of plant traits, tips for growing guernia, recommendations for cactus propagation, pest and disease control, interesting facts, species. Guernia (Huernia) belongs to the genus of plants, united in the family Asclepiadaceae. It can be found under synonymous names - Guernia, Huernia or Huernia. The main habitat is in the Arabian Peninsula, as well as in the lands of East and South Africa, where an arid, dry climate and rocks prevail. The genus includes, according to various estimates, from 40 to 60 varieties.
This representative of the flora got its name thanks to the German botanists Karl Moritz Schumann (1851-1904) and Alvin Berger (1871-1931), who worked on the taxonomy of succulents (plants that have the ability to accumulate moisture in their stems and leaves), cacti and agaves. The latter was also a gardener. They, naming this plant, decided to immortalize the name of Justin Hernius, who lived in 1587-1652 and who was the first scientist to collect samples of the green world of the planet in the area of the Cape of Good Hope. This naturalist made sketches of plants in his works, thanks to them on the territory of Europe they learned about the members of the Stapeliyev family, or as they are now called the Lastovnevs. According to the terminology of scientists, this genus of succulents should bear exactly the name - Hernia, and nothing else, but we have what we have. Let's figure out how to care for this exotic and propagate with our own hands.
So, guernia is a herbaceous succulent with a long life span and low height. The stems are very diverse in shape. Shoots (trunks) have good branching, and their length from the very base ranges from 20-30 cm. On the stems you can see 4-10 plump faces, which are colored from light and bright green to brown. The entire surface of the shoots is covered with bare teeth of a grayish-green or grayish-red color scheme. In length, such teeth can reach 1 cm. There are varieties in which the teeth resemble tubercles in outlines, and in others - sharp needles.
Flowers are especially decorative because of their shape and color. The buds are attached to the shoots with small pedicels (up to 0.5–2 cm long). The diameter of the flower can vary, depending on the variety, from 2 to 7 cm. The corolla is formed by five large sepals fused into a wide tube, in its upper part it has a notch and limb. Sepals are fleshy, their surface is covered to a greater or lesser extent by growths - formations that resemble either warts or papillae. The color is also very varied, with mottling and mottling. The petals are hidden deep in the wide-bell-shaped tube and are hardly noticeable; reproductive organs are also located there. In shape, the corolla resembles in some species a five-pointed regular star or bell, while in others it resembles a shaggy jellyfish or a bowl. There are varieties whose flowers have an unpleasant smell, like carrion.
The arrangement of flowers is found both single and with the ability to form small-flowered inflorescences from them, combining 2-3 buds. They take their origin in the axils of the denticles located in the lower part of the shoot, most often the growth of this year or last year. The buds are pressed close to the very base of the stem.
The flowering process lasts long enough (up to 2-3 months) and it occurs in the summer, as well as September. Mature specimens delight with the appearance of buds one after another.
Tips for caring for guernia at home
- Lighting. To make this succulent feel comfortable, you need to select a bright place to grow it. It is even better that there is a small amount of sunlight - sills of the southeast or southwest orientation of the windows will do. On the window of the southern location, especially in the summer, you will need to arrange shading by hanging a light curtain or gauze curtain. In the autumn-winter months, it will be necessary to carry out supplementary lighting with phytolamps.
- Temperature the content of the guernia. The plant needs to be grown in the spring and summer at moderate heat (18–20 degrees). It has been noticed that at too high temperatures, the stems begin to wrinkle and the flowers wither faster. The stem at the base becomes brown in color, dryness appears and color is lost. And with the arrival of winter, it is generally necessary to reduce the temperature to 16-18 degrees, at least to 12. If there is no such possibility of "cool wintering", it will be necessary to provide more light, supplementary lighting with lamps. As soon as the threat of spring frost passes, you can take the garbage out to the balcony or garden, but take care of shading and protection from rain and draft.
- Watering. In the spring and summer, it is required to moisturize the guernia moderately. But it should be remembered that the bays of the substrate will negatively affect this succulent, since there is already enough moisture in its stems. A slight overdrying of the substrate is not as painful as its souring. If the hernia is kept in cool conditions in winter, then watering begins to be reduced already with the arrival of autumn days, and in the winter months, moisture is very scarce (only once a month). When the plant comes out of dormancy, it is better to carry out bottom watering, lowering the pot in a pan of water for 20-30 minutes. Then it is drained and humidified as usual.
- Air humidity when growing guernia, it does not play a significant role and this plant does not need spraying.
- Fertilizers for this exotic are introduced from May to July. The regularity of feeding is once a month. For this, a complex mineral fertilizer is used for cacti or succulent plants. If an annual change of the pot and the substrate in it is carried out, then the frequency of fertilizing is reduced every two months. In the winter dormant period, fertilizers are not used at all.
- Transplantation and choice of substrate. Guernia is transplanted annually. The new container should be wide, but not deep. Drainage is laid on its bottom (for example, expanded clay, crumbled foam or pebbles). If the variety is ampelous or semi-ampelous, then it is recommended to grow it in hanging pots-pots. The acidity of the substrate should be within the pH range of 7, 5–8, 5 (weakly alkaline). When replanting, you can use ready-made soil mixes for succulents or cacti, as well as prepare the soil yourself by mixing: sod soil, leafy soil, fine gravel with a fraction of 2-4 mm, all parts of the components are equal.
DIY succulent breeding rules
To obtain a new exotic, you must either sow seeds or propagate by cuttings.
When propagated by seed, with the arrival of March, it is placed in a wide and shallow container filled with peat-sandy soil, after covering it with a plastic bag or glass pieces. The seeds are located at a distance of 3 cm from each other, then they are powdered with the same substrate (2 mm). The container is placed in a warm place with diffused lighting. Regularly, you need to ventilate the crops and moisten the soil if necessary. After 3-4 weeks, shoots will appear and the shelter is removed. If the stems become a little reddened, then there is too much light and you should take care of more shading. Once the seedlings are sufficiently developed, they can be dived into individual pots with a suitable substrate.
When propagated by cuttings. The selected stems are simply broken off or cut off from the mother guernia and dried on paper for 2 days. The length of the cutting does not matter. Then they are planted in the ground, or rather, they simply put the cutting on the surface of the substrate, you can fix it with a paper clip. The soil should only be slightly damp. As soon as the cuttings take root, you can carry out planting in separate flowerpots.
Possible pests and diseases of Guernia, ways to control them
This succulent is very susceptible to putrefactive processes and in just a couple of days, only lumps of mucus can remain from it. This is due to the fact that the owner strongly and often waterlogged the soil in the pot. To avoid such a misfortune, you should regularly dry the soil in a flowerpot.
Experienced growers who grow cacti recommend using soil with increased porosity, adding gravel to it. However, this gives rise to the possibility of propagation of the root mealybug. To combat this pest, insecticidal agents such as Aktara are used. Actellik or Intavir.
Interesting facts about Guernia
The closest relative is Stapelia, a similar herbaceous perennial plant. When the guernia becomes very adult, it grows so that in natural conditions it forms spreading curtains - ground cover formations that are very reminiscent of the carpet of succulent shoots.
Guernia species
- Guernia keniensis (Huernia keniensis) is a semi-amellous plant with shoots that spread along the surface of the soil. Their length is 30 cm. The stems have 5 ribs, provided with teeth, which are bent downwards and have pointed tops. The flowers have red-purple petals, their surface is velvety. Inflorescences are collected from 2–5 buds. In the flower, the sepals are almost completely spliced and at the same time form a wide funnel, the diameter of which is 3 cm, it is decorated with long triangular denticles (these are the tips of the sepals), which sometimes have a backward bend. Inside and outside, their surface is covered with densely located peculiar outlines of the papillae. This variety has several varieties that differ from each other in size and shape of the formed corolla. So, for example, in the species "Grandiflora" the corolla in diameter can reach 5 cm, in the variety "Globosa" the corolla tube is characterized by spherical outlines.
- Guernia striped (Huernia zerbina) has a very small size, its height does not exceed 10 cm, although the thickness of the stem reaches 2 cm. In straight-growing shoots, four ribs are clearly visible. The surface of the shoots has a light green color, if the plant is grown in shade, but with sufficient illumination, their shade changes to greenish-burgundy. The flowers are arranged singly, with a fairly large corolla diameter, reaching up to 7 cm. The corolla of the bud is unusual in shape: the glossy throat of the tube, which casts a dark burgundy color, turns into a ring with a strong bulge of the same color (its shape almost resembles a torus). A five-pointed star with wide rays emerges from under this ring formation, which was obtained by fusion of yellow sepals. Burgundy stripes, which abundantly dotted the surface of the sepals, betray their high decorativeness.
- Large-fruited guernia (Huernia macrocarpa) It is a succulent with an average height that approaches 20 cm. This variety has erect shoots and are painted in a bluish-green color; in the bright sun, they can acquire purple tones. The stems have seven distinct ribs, the teeth of which have a weak bend. Flowers can grow as single, and gather in inflorescences of 2-5 buds. The corolla is broadly bell-shaped, formed due to the fact that the sepal petals have grown together; in the opening, the corolla diameter reaches 2 cm. There is also a bend of the petals, which resembles a regular pentagon, with miniature denticles, in the place where the sepals have splicing. Its shade is maroon, uneven, the surface is decorated with pronounced mottling. There are several other varieties that have a variety of flower colors and denticles.
- Guernia rough (Huernia aspera) can also be found under the name of Thorny Gueria. This variety is also medium-sized, but its shoots are small in thickness, their parameters approaching one and a half centimeters. The stems have 5 ribs, their color is light greenish, to the apex the denticles quickly narrow and acquire needle outlines almost at the very base. Flowers, as well as in the previous species, are single or in the composition of 2-5 units form inflorescences. In shape, the corolla tube takes wide-bell-shaped contours, and the bend forms a five-pointed star of regular outlines. The color inside casts a blood-burgundy color scheme and densely growing long growths in the form of papillae, with the same shade. There are varietal varieties with colors ranging from bright red to deep purple.
- Guernia primulina (Huernia primulina). A rather small variety, the parameters of the whole plant approach only 8 cm with the width of the shoots up to one and a half centimeters. The ability to grow strongly is also present. When a shrub is already considered an adult specimen, it can grow up to 30 cm across. The stems spread along the soil surface and have 4–5 edges. Shoots are painted in a gray-green shade. Small denticles have a sharp narrowing towards the apex. Pedicels reach a length of 2.5 cm. An inflorescence is collected from the buds, the number of flowers in which varies within 3–8 units. The corolla tube is mottled burgundy inside, and its limb is painted in a creamy yellow tone. The corolla is formed by accretion of up to half the tips of the sepals, which have a wide-triangular outline. The bend can measure 2-3 cm in diameter.
- Hanging guernia (Huernia pendula). This plant is distinguished by an ampelous growth form, the drooping shoots of which reach one and a half meter indicators. Stems with cylindrical contours, in diameter can reach 9 cm. The ribbing is almost imperceptible, the grown denticles have the outlines of small tuberosities. If we take into account the total size of the plant, then its buds are quite small, their diameter reaches only 2 cm. As a rule, an inflorescence containing 2–5 buds is collected from flowers. Due to the bend of the corolla, a beautiful broad-beam star is formed, its contours almost resemble a pentagon with the presence of beams bent back. The color of the petals is claret-red. The throat of the corolla tube is darker in color - almost burgundy-black.
- Guernia prickly (Huernia hystrix). This variety is one of the most beautiful in the family. The plant is a succulent plant, reaching a height of only 5–12 cm, but in width it can grow up to 30 cm or more. Shoots droop to the soil, have 5 edges, are painted in a light green color, they have thick teeth directed upwards. At the peduncle, the length can approach 6 cm. In its shape, the corolla is similar to a bird's nest, since the sepal petals are strongly bent back, and their ends there (at the pedicel) are connected to each other. In this case, a shape is formed that resembles a donut or torus (a geometric figure with similar contours), which seems to be “put on” on a wide tube measuring almost 1.5 cm in diameter., 5–5, 5 cm. Because of these papillae, the flower has a rather shaggy and prickly appearance. The color of all elements of the flower is burgundy with snow-white.
How guernia blooms, see this video:
