Albuca spiralis | Corkscrew plant
€10,60
🌱 Morphology
It looks as if someone had delicately wrapped the leaves of a plant around a corkscrew. From its small bulb emerge narrow, green, fleshy leaves that twist to form spirals, curves, and corkscrews of extraordinary plasticity. Each specimen can acquire a different architecture, and the more intense the lighting is during its growth, the more pronounced the curling usually is.
It is a deciduous bulbous geophyte that develops a solitary, depressed, subglobose bulb, about 2–3 cm in diameter. It normally produces between 5 and 10 linear and channeled leaves, approximately 9–20 cm long, with the apical end twisted from slightly wavy to strongly coiled in a spiral. The leaves have glandular hairs, especially visible on the upper surface. The inflorescence is erect and relatively short, with several pendulous green flowers with yellowish margins.
🌍 Distribution, habitat, and family
It belongs to the Asparagaceae family and is native to the Cape provinces of South Africa. It grows in seasonally dry environments, on sandy and clay soils, forming part of the Mediterranean vegetation of the Cape region. Kew currently recognizes Albuca spiralis as an accepted species.
❄️ Temperature — USDA Zone 8b–11b
It tolerates minimum temperatures down to −7 ºC in dry, well-acclimated specimens during brief exposures. During the active growth period, it withstands low temperatures better than during its dormancy, but the bulb should be prevented from remaining damp at temperatures near freezing.
☀️ Lighting
It needs plenty of light to develop strong leaves and achieve the characteristic curling. A very bright exposure is recommended, even with direct sun for a good part of the day, with progressive acclimation for specimens coming from lower intensity conditions. Insufficient lighting produces longer, weaker, and much less spiraled leaves.
💧 Growth cycle and watering
Winter growth and summer dormancy. With the arrival of cooler temperatures and autumn rains, leaf emission begins, and the active period starts. During growth, it is recommended to water abundantly, letting the substrate dry completely before the next watering. After flowering and as the temperature rises, the leaves turn yellow and the plant enters dormancy. During the summer, the bulb should be kept practically dry, as excess moisture during dormancy promotes rot.
🌸 Flowering
It blooms mainly from late winter to mid-spring. The flowers are pendulous, green with yellowish margins, and release a sweet aroma that has been described as smelling like butter and vanilla. The floral stem can reach about 12 cm.
🌿 Nutrition
During the active growth period, a fertilizer specifically for succulents is recommended, with a high content of assimilable calcium, such as Desert CHOICE® Succulents, applied once a month when watering.
This is an inimitable xerophyte grown in Madrid in a technical square pot with the substrate activated with mycorrhizal fungi and biofungicides.
📏 Gourmet xerophyte in a 9x9 cm pot.
* As this is an online purchase, the appearance of the sent specimen may vary slightly from the product image. The measurements of the plant are specified in the photo description, but this may also vary slightly, because it is a living being! Each of the Desert CITY plants has unique characteristics.
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