Carruanthus peersii | Toorwaterpoort Mesemb
€10,60
🔍 Morphology
Small perennial succulent, slow-growing, initially solitary but eventually forming dense clumps up to about 30 cm in diameter. The stems branch from the base and can reach about 50 cm, taking on a pendulous habit in mature specimens. The leaves are opposite, fleshy, triangular in cross-section, oblong, and slightly club-shaped, ranging in color from grayish green to bluish green. The margins are smooth or have very poorly developed teeth, a feature that distinguishes it from C. ringens.
📍 Distribution, habitat, and family
Endemic to South Africa, restricted to Toorwaterpoort, in the eastern section of the Groot Swartberg, between the Western and Eastern Cape. It grows exclusively in deep gorges, on quartz walls and ledges of the Witteberg formation, at an altitude of about 800–1,200 m, where it finds pockets of soil between the cracks. It belongs to the Aizoaceae family. SANBI considers it rare, but it is currently classified as Least Concern (LC).
🌡️ USDA Zone and temperature
USDA 9a–11. It tolerates minimum temperatures down to −4 ºC during brief episodes if the substrate remains completely dry. Frosts do not occur in its natural habitat, so in cultivation, it is especially important to avoid the combination of cold and humidity.
☀️ Lighting
It requires high light levels: direct sun during mild seasons and bright partial shade when summer temperatures are very high. As a cultivation goal during growth, it is recommended to exceed 20 moles of PAR photons/m²/day.
🌸 Flowering
It produces yellow flowers, usually one to three per growth unit, which open in the late afternoon and remain open until after nightfall. Flowering occurs in spring, approximately between September and November in South Africa, equivalent to March–May in Spain.
💧 Growth cycle and watering
Opportunistic. Although its growth is most active from spring to late summer, it can continue to grow outside this period provided it has water and favorable temperatures. SANBI recommends watering well during summer and autumn and reducing the supply during winter and early spring. The substrate should be allowed to dry out completely between waterings, always maintaining excellent drainage.
🌿 Nutrition
During the active growth period, a fertilizer with a high content of assimilable calcium and potassium is recommended, such as Desert CHOICE® Aizoaceae, applied during watering and avoiding excessive nitrogen supply.
This is an inimitable Xerophyte grown in Madrid in a technical square pot with the substrate activated with mycorrhizal fungi.
7 × 7 cm gourmet black pot.
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