Gasteria - home care, photo species, reproduction

Plant photo

Gasteria (Gasteria) - hardy succulent perennial of the Asfodelov family, numbering more than 80 natural varieties (cultivated much less - only about a dozen varieties). The homeland of Gasteria is the arid territory of South Africa.

Under natural conditions, a plant can reach a height of 1 meter, but when grown home, its growth usually does not exceed 30 cm. During life, it forms medium-sized rosettes of oblong, fleshy leaves of a dark green hue, in many species they are decorated with an abstract pattern of silver or whitish spots and tubercles.

It blooms with rare racemose inflorescences, appearing on long peduncles and consisting of many amphora flowers with corollas of red, orange, pink or green.

Also see how to grow haworthia and aloe agave in room conditions.

	Low growth rate.
	Mostly blooms in mid spring and early summer.
	The plant is easy to grow indoors.
	Perennial plant, up to 20 years.

Beneficial features

Gasteria warty. A photo Gasteria is spotty. A photo

In indoor floriculture, gasteria is valued not only for its decorative qualities, but also for its ability to filter air and absorb carbon dioxide from it, as well as various harmful impurities. And this plant in the process of photosynthesis emits a large amount of oxygen, so it is recommended to place it, for example, in bedrooms.

Features of growing at home. Briefly

Temperature mode	In the warm season, about + 24 ° С, in winter - + 10- + 15 ° С.
Air humidity	Lowered, no need to spray.
Lighting	Bright scattered. The plant tolerates content in the shade, but with a lack of light it develops poorly.
Watering	Moderate during the period of active vegetation (once a week), rare and scarce in winter (1 time in 1-2 months).
Priming	Purchased for succulents or prepared from turf and leafy soil with the addition of sand and loosening material. It is not recommended to add peat to the substrate.
Fertilizer and fertilizer	1 time in 1-2 months with a weak solution of fertilizer for cacti or any complex product for indoor plants.
Gasteria transplant	Once every 2-3 years or less - as it grows out of the old pot.
Breeding	Seeds, leafy cuttings, children.
Growing Features	Gasteria at home dries the lower leaves as it grows - this is a natural process, but wilted parts of the plant should be removed in a timely manner so that pests do not get into them.

Gasteria: home care. In detail

Bloom

The Gasteria plant rarely blooms in room conditions and only if it is "comfortable" with the temperature and light intensity. In spring or summer, long peduncles appear from the central part of leaf sockets, on which there are many elegant drooping amphora flowers with corollas painted in bright shades of red, orange, yellow and green.

Temperature mode

In the warm season, the flower is kept at a temperature of + 20- + 25 ° С; in winter it is transferred to a cooler place, where the air temperature is maintained no more than + 15 ° С. In such conditions, the plant gets the opportunity to fully rest laying flower buds for the next season.

Spraying

Gasteria prefers low humidity, therefore, does not need additional spraying.

Lighting

For normal development, the plant needs year-round bright diffused light shading from direct sunlight. Home Gasteria unpretentious and can adapt to life in the shade, but with a shortage of sun, it practically does not grow and will certainly not be able to bloom.

Watering

Like any succulent, it feels comfortable in a dry climate and does not need frequent heavy watering. It is recommended to moisten the soil sparingly, allowing it to dry well between waterings.

In summer, the plant is watered once a week, in winter - once every 1-2 months.

Pot

A container for growing a flower is selected wide and shallow (in a deep dish it grows poorly and often gets sick). Another prerequisite for selecting a pot is the presence of a drainage hole to remove excess moisture from the roots.

Priming

Home-made Gasteria grows well in the purchased substrate for cacti and succulents, but you can prepare the soil mix for the plant yourself from turf and garden soil, coarse sand and any loosening material (broken brick, charcoal, perlite, etc.). It is not recommended to add peat to the soil for planting.

Fertilizer and fertilizer

Caring for Gasteria at home may well do without feeding at all if the plant is timely transplanted into a fresh substrate. If desired, the flower can be periodically fed with a very weak solution of liquid fertilizer for succulents or any complex preparation (this should be done during the active vegetation no more than 1 time in 1-2 months).

Transfer

Gasteria transplantation is carried out as the root system grows. Usually a new capacity is required to the plant every 2-3 years, as it develops rather slowly.

The transplant procedure is carried out by transshipment of a flower from one pot to another without destroying the earthen coma.

Pruning

Most species do not form stems; therefore, this plant does not need the forming pruning. However, in the process of growth, the flower gradually dries the lower leaves - they should be regularly removed so as not to create a favorable environment for the propagation of pests.

Rest period

The plant rests in the winter. At this time, it is transferred to a cool, but bright room with an air temperature of about + 15 ° C, watering is reduced to the minimum necessary, and feeding is temporarily stopped completely.

Growing Gasteria from seeds

Seeds are sown in loose, slightly moistened soil superficially, without sprinkling or deepening. Under a film or glass in a warm bright place, seedlings appear after 1.5-2 months. When 3-4 real leaflets are formed on the seedlings, they can be transplanted into permanent pots.

Gasteria reproduction by children

The lateral processes or babies forming around the maternal outlet can be used to produce new plants. When breeding Gasteria in this way, the children carefully dig in and, together with the earthen lump, are transferred to a new individual pot. Seedlings are watered a little and left to build up the root system.

Young plants are very slowly starting to grow, it is impossible to accelerate this process, therefore, caring for plants is carried out in normal mode.

Gasteria leaf propagation

The seedling is easy to obtain by rooting a healthy leaf from the mother plant. Cuttings are prepared as follows: neatly cut strong formed leaves, after which they are dried for 2-3 days, sprinkled with a crushed charcoal slice.

Rooted cuttings in a loose, slightly moistened substrate, while watering them does not need to cut places do not rot. Roots are formed within 20-30 days, after which each stalk can be transplanted into an individual pot. New sprouts will have to wait, often the first of them bites only a year after rooting.

Diseases and Pests

Difficulties when growing in flower growers are extremely rare, only with gross violations of the rules of care for a plant, health problems may appear:

• old leaves curl and dry as the plant grows and develops. This natural process does not need to be interfered with, it is only important to regularly remove the fading parts of the flower so that dangerous insects do not breed in them.
• Leaves wither, turn yellow and rot with excessive watering. The plant tolerates short-term dry periods much easier than the high humidity of the soil and air, so you need to water it very moderately and accurately.
• Leaves stretch and turn pale from a lack of sunlight. Bright southern or southeastern windows are best suited for growing plants.
• Leaves Gasteria turn yellow very much dry spots appear on them - these are burns from direct sunlight. It is recommended to shade the plant or temporarily remove it from the windowsill in hot and sunny midday hours.
• Root decay occurs with waterlogging of the soil in combination with low air temperature. For the normal development of the plant, it is important to strictly observe the temperature regime and irrigation regime.
• Blush Leaves due to excessive lighting. This phenomenon does not require treatment and usually disappears over time.

It can be affected by such dangerous insects as mealybugs, spider mites and scale insects, and aphids also occasionally inhabit the plant. Special insecticides will help get rid of pests.

Types of homesteria with photos and names

Gasteria warty (Gasteria verrucosa)

A variety popular in indoor floriculture that forms spectacular rosettes of long dark green leaves, the surface of which is densely strewn with small white warts. Inflorescences appear on very long peduncles (up to 80 cm) and consist of several dozen medium-sized amphora flowers of red-green or pink-green color.

Gasteria Armstrong (Gasteria armstrongii)

An unusual plant of compact size with very thick fleshy leaves of an oblong-oval shape of a dark green hue. The plant blooms in small, rarely arranged on peduncles, greenish-pink flowers of elongated bell-shaped form.

Gasteria marble (Gasteria marmorata)

A stemless appearance, forming dense rosettes of wide tongue-like leaves of a juicy marble-green color with a pattern of silver spots of irregular shape. The flowers of the plant are elongated bell-shaped orange-red hue.

Spotted Gasteria (Gasteria maculata)

A medium-sized variety with long smooth leaves of a dark green hue with an abstract pattern of whitish spots of irregular shape. The plant blooms bright red with a green edging funnel-shaped flowers, collected in compact racemose inflorescences.

Gasteria Tiny (Gasteria liliputana)

A miniature variety that forms dense stemless rosettes of dark green lanceolate leaves covered with a pattern of whitish spots. Peduncles up to 30 cm long appear from the center of the rosette or sinuses of the upper leaves and carry many small bell flowers with green-pink corollas.

Kasterovaya Gasteria

A medium-sized species with long spiral-growing leaves of a dirty green hue in white speck, gathering in loose stemless rosettes. The flowers in the form of elongated bells bloom alternately on long peduncles, their corollas are painted in a greenish-whitish hue.

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