The characteristic differences of the plant, agricultural technology when growing graptopetalum, advice on the reproduction of a succulent, difficulties and their solution, interesting facts, types. Graptopetalum (Graptopetalum) can be found under the name Spotted petals, which belongs to the genus belonging to the Tolstyankov family (Crassulaceae). It also includes up to 20 species of succulents (plants that accumulate liquid in their stems or leaves). In the wild, these representatives of the flora "live" in areas of the American continent characterized by an arid climate, the territory of which extends from the Mexican lands to Arizona (USA). On the territory of Europe, they learned about this plant only at the end of the twentieth century, thanks to the Mexican cactologist Alfred Lau.
The graptopetalum is not too large in height - its maximum height is close to the meter mark, but there are also miniature forms, the indicators of which do not exceed 5 cm. The growth rate of this succulent is very low. There are species that lack a stem completely and those that are shrubs with branched succulent shoots. However, all types of graptopetalum are united by the fact that their sheet plates are connected into dense rounded rosettes. They can be both terrestrial and crown the tops of the stems. These rosette formations in some species have a squat outline, while others very much resemble tattered cedar cones.
A distinctive feature of graptopetalum is the flowering stems that rise above the leaf rosettes. The arrangement of peduncles can be both axillary and lateral. On their tops, branched inflorescences develop, racemose, in which a small number of flowers are collected. The buds of this succulent are completely nondescript. They have star-shaped outlines, flowers are divisible. The calyx opens wide and reaches 2–2.5 cm in diameter. It is formed by 5–7 lanceolate petals. Also, 10–15 elongated stamens grow in the bud. The flowering process occurs in May-June, and it continues for several weeks. For this long flowering succulent attracts amateur flower growers. The first buds of home graptopetalum may appear as early as April days.
Cultivation of spotted petals, home care
- Lighting. This succulent is able to withstand direct streams of ultraviolet radiation and is a big fan of bright lighting, so you can put pots with a plant on the windows of a southern or southeastern location. But you need to accustom you to direct sunlight gradually, otherwise, it is better to pull up the window with a light curtain or gauze curtain in the summer afternoon. The most shade-tolerant among the genus, this is the beautiful Graptopetalum variety - it can also be grown in the western direction of windows. However, if the level of illumination is insufficient, then it will be necessary to lengthen the duration of daylight hours (about 10 hours) with the help of phytolamps and increase the brightness of the illumination. With the arrival of constant spring heat, you can take the succulent pot out to the balcony or garden so that it airs and "breathes". If airing is carried out in rooms, it is better to protect graptopetalum from drafts.
- Growing temperature. In the summer, it is better to keep the plant with heat indicators fluctuating in the range of 25-28 degrees, and from the beginning of autumn days the pot with spotted petals is transferred to a cooler place. From mid-November to the end of winter, the succulent must be sent "to rest" - kept at a temperature of 6-12 degrees and good lighting (for example, on a loggia or an insulated balcony).
- Air humidity when growing this succulent, it does not play a special role and it does not need spraying.
- Watering. As soon as the graptopetalum comes out of the "hibernation" mode and begins to develop, it is gradually watered, the soil in the pot should dry out between waterings to the middle of the container. Water for humidification is taken only soft, well-separated, with room temperature (about 22-24 degrees). Rain or melt water can be used, but the latter must be heated. During the dormant period, the plant practically does not need to be watered, but the turgor of the leaf plates acts as a guide here, if the leaves have wilted or wrinkled, then it is required to moisten the soil. This is usually done once a month.
- Fertilizer of graptopetalum. During the period of increased growth, the succulent needs to be fed regularly every 30 days. In this case, fertilizers are used for succulents or cacti. With the arrival of autumn days and until April, it is not recommended to fertilize the plant.
- Transplantation and selection of a substrate. Since this succulent does not have a high growth rate, it is not often transplanted. This is done only if necessary (for example, many daughter outlets have formed around the mother bush, placed on the sides, or the flowerpot has become cramped for the root system). Usually, a transplant is performed every 2-3 years, while the daughter sockets are separated and deposited in separate flowerpots. A layer of drainage material is placed on the bottom of the new container. Pots should be wide and flatter, as the root system of the spotted petals is not too developed. It is advisable to sprinkle the surface of the soil with small pebbles, which will prevent the juicy leaf plates of the succulent from coming into contact with the moistened substrate.
When transplanting, the soil should have good looseness, lightness and the ability to pass moisture and air to the root system. You can use ready-made soil mixes for succulent plants or prepare such a substrate yourself by mixing:
- sod and leafy soil, coarse-grained river sand (parts are equal), crushed and sifted brick chips, as well as a little charcoal, are added there;
- leafy soil, peat soil, rough soil (from under coniferous plants), river sand (in proportions 2: 1: 2: 3).
Self-breeding tips for spotted succulent
To obtain a new bush of spotted petals, it is necessary to root its daughter rosettes, plant leafy cuttings or sow seed.
If a decision is made to carry out cuttings, then you will need to cut off a well-developed leaf plate with a petiole, dry it for 1-2 days so that moisture from the cut site stops oozing. In a pot with a peat-sand mixture (or sand), only the stalk of the cutting is dropped. It is important not to overmoisten such seedlings, therefore it is not recommended to cover them with plastic wrap or place them under a glass vessel, otherwise all the cuttings will rot. After about a week, they will release root processes and take root, and after one and a half to two months you can admire the beginning of the formation of young graptopetalum.
Naturally, the easiest way to carry out reproduction is by planting ready-made small plants that are formed next to the mother bush - daughter rosettes. It will take a neat separation of the leaf outlet and keep it on paper in a dry and shaded place for several days, so that the cut point becomes covered with a chiffchaff and the liquid stops oozing. For the early formation of root processes at the outlet, you can treat its cut with some kind of root formation stimulant (for example, "Kornevin") or also use an aqueous solution of heteroauxin. This is done as soon as the plant has been separated from the mother bush.
Rooting is carried out in a pot filled with wet washed sand. In order for rooting to be successful, you can preheat it to a temperature of 23-25 degrees. When germinating, it is required to regularly moisten the sand by gently spraying it from a fine spray bottle. Unlike cuttings, the daughter rosette can be placed under a glass vessel or wrapped in polyethylene. It is important not to forget to air the seedlings once a day. When a young succulent takes root, then it is transplanted into a new pot with a suitable soil for further growth.
Difficulties in growing graptopetalum and ways to overcome them
Since the leaf plates of this succulent are covered with a kind of waxy coating, pests rarely pay attention to the plant. But most of all that can annoy the spotted petals are a variety of rot, which are provoked by violations in the care and, especially when the substrate is overmoistened. Then wetting dark spots will appear in the root zone of the plant. If such a problem is found, you will need to remove the succulent from the pot, remove the rot (you can cut it off with a sharp and disinfected knife), and treat the sections with a weak solution of manganese permanganate (such a solution of potassium permanganate should be slightly pinkish so as not to burn the plant). After that, a transplant is carried out into a new soil and it is advisable to use a new flowerpot or thoroughly wash and disinfect the old one.
However, some growers warn against attacking the succulent red spider mite. This pest is immediately recognized by the appearance of a brown spot on the surface of the leaf blades. It is necessary to immediately carry out the treatment with an acaricidal preparation. If there is no improvement, then repeated spraying is performed after a week.
Of the reasons that harm the graptopetalum, the following can be distinguished:
- The appearance of spotting on the stem and leaves means (as already mentioned) the beginning of putrefactive processes. It will be necessary to reduce watering, more often to air the succulent.
- Drying of leaf plates and discarding of buds occurs due to insufficient moisture of the substrate or too high temperature in the room. Especially in the autumn-winter period, it is important to adhere to the recommended indicators of humidity and heat. In the summer months, the spotted petals are watered abundantly as soon as the soil dries out a little.
Interesting facts about spotted petals
For the first time, this plant arrived in European lands only at the end of the 20th century, and the Mexican researcher of German origin Alfred Lau, who was a missionary and was an expert on Mexican cacti, introduced European flower growers to graptopetalum.
Types of graptopetalum
- Graptopetalum beautiful (Graptopetalum bellum) is the most famous variety among florists. A small plant with a shortened stem, when it becomes fully adult (in the conditions of its natural growth) reaches up to 30 centimeters. The diameter of a flattened leaf rosette can approach 10 cm. The leaf plates are arranged spirally on the stem, juicy in outline. Young leaves grow vertically upward, but as new growth appears, they begin to bow to the soil, and, in the end, take a horizontal position. The leaf rosette is so dense that the leaves practically lie on top of each other. The leaf plates are triangular in shape, but there is a sharp slight sharpening at the top. The color of the surface is gray-green, and along the edge there is a bronze tint. When flowering, a flowering stem appears, bearing an inflorescence with a small number of buds. It reaches 10 cm in height, and grows strongly raised above the leaf rosette. The flowers are star-shaped, have five petals, and when the bud is fully opened, its diameter reaches 2.5 cm. The color of the petals varies from dark pink to purple-red. The stamens in it are of a dark pinkish tint with whitish anthers of oval outlines. The flowering process is quite long. It is found under the synonymous names Graptopetalum beautiful, Graptopetalum bellum, Tacitus bellus or Mexican star. Likes to settle in the rocky regions of Mexico. It was first discovered growing in the northwestern state of Chihuahua, as well as by Sonora Alfred Lau, in 1972.
- Graptopetalum paraguayense (Graptopetalum paraguayense), which is found under the name "Stone Rose". The plant has a short succulent stem. When the plant is young, then its stem is erect, and with age, it lays down to the soil, crawling out of the pot. Leaf rosettes have a loose shape, and they carry fewer leaves in themselves than the beautiful Graptopetalum. The leaf plates are fleshy, with obovate contours; there is a sharpening at the apex. Their dimensions are up to 5–8 cm long, with a width of up to 1, 5–4 cm, and their thickness is close to 1 cm. The surface is covered with a small waxy coating, which makes the leaf appear bluish-gray. But there are varieties in which a well-defined pink tone is mixed with this color scheme. The flowering stem, although it grows long, but due to the fact that the leaf rosette has a large volume, it does not rise too much above it. The flowers are small in size, star-shaped, five-petalled, completely inconspicuous in appearance. The petals in the buds are whitish with a slight red speck.
- Graptopetalum pentandrum This variety is not very common in indoor cultivation, but it has a highly decorative look. Slightly resembles a variety of Paraguayan Graptopetalum, but the density of leaf rosettes in this variety is large and the shape of the leaf plates is more rounded. The flower-bearing stems differ most of all. They are quite long and have strong branching, which makes them look like trees of graceful outlines, in which branches are densely intertwined. The flowers are small and inconspicuous. The buds have 6 narrow-lanceolate petals, the surface of which is densely speckled with red speckles on a completely snow-white background.
- Filamentous graptopetalum (Graptopetalum filiferum). Succulent is not as attractive as Graptopetalum is beautiful, but it surpasses this variety in decorativeness of leaf plates. The rosettes formed by the leaves have rather miniature sizes, they usually grow to a maximum of about 6 cm. The number of leaf plates that the rosette includes can range from 100 to 150 units. At the top of each leaf there are brown bristles up to 1.5 cm long. The flowers bloom in large sizes, crowning peduncles with a length of 8 cm. The buds have whitish petals with reddish dots. The flowering process will extend over all summer months. Often, unlike the aforementioned variety, daughter leaf rosettes are formed here on the lateral stems.
- Graptopetalum thick-leaved (Graptopetalum pachyphyllum). It is a miniature flower, which in outline is very similar to a compact tree. The stem is well branched. Leaf rosettes in diameter reach 2–2, 5 cm. Since the leaves are small in length, the impression of their "plumpness" is formed due to the filling with liquid.
What graptopetalum looks like, see this video:
