€7,95

Gasteria armstrongii Schönland — Armstrong's Gasteria

🌱 Morphology
One of the smallest and most extraordinary Gasterias for its mimicry: it remains practically pressed against the ground, to the point of blending in with the stones in its habitat. It is a very slow-growing species, acaulescent, solitary or capable of forming small clusters through basal offshoots. The leaves, arranged in two opposite rows, remain spread horizontally and barely rise above the ground. Each leaf measures approximately 3–6 × 2.3–3.5 cm, is triangular to triangular-ligulate, very thick and firm, with the upper surface slightly canaliculate and the lower convex, without a keel. Both sides are dark green and covered with whitish tubercles, irregularly distributed in transverse bands. The margin is horny, acute and entire, and the apex ends in a small, rigid tip. During drought, the leaves acquire reddish-brown tones and can partially retract below soil level, further increasing their camouflage.

🌍 Distribution, habitat and family
It is an extremely localized endemic to the Eastern Cape (South Africa), in the vicinity of the Gamtoos River and Jeffreys Bay, where it grows in the Humansdorp Shale Renosterveld. It inhabits flat or gently undulating, extraordinarily stony terrain, where its dark, tuberculate leaves mimic the stones on the ground. It can grow in full sun, although it is also partially protected by small shrubs. The coastal climate is mild, with about 400–500 mm of annual rainfall, distributed between summer and winter, and average temperatures of approximately 22 ºC maximum and 12 ºC minimum.

Family Asphodelaceae, tribe Alooideae, section Longiflorae, series Multifariae. This species was described by Schönland in 1912 and was later treated as Gasteria nitida var. armstrongii, but subsequent studies recognized it again as an independent species.

❄️ Temperature — USDA 10a
It tolerates minimum temperatures of up to approximately 1 ºC. In its natural habitat, the climate is coastal and frosts are very rare; for cultivation in Spain, it is safer to protect it from intense and prolonged frosts. The RHS classifies it as H2, tolerant to low temperatures but not to freezing.

☀️ Lighting
It prefers shade to semi-shade, although it is one of the Gasterias that can withstand quite a lot of light and even full sun once acclimated. In very hot climates, protection against intense sun is recommended. Target range: 10–20 mol/m²/day of DLI PAR.

💧 Growth cycle and irrigation
Opportunistic. For this species, it is not advisable to impose a strict summer dormancy: SANBI indicates that it can be watered throughout the year, although more sparingly in winter. Its habitat receives rainfall in both summer and winter, with a slight tendency towards greater summer humidity. It is recommended to let the substrate dry partially between waterings.

🌸 Flowering
It blooms in January–February, mid-Austral summer. The inflorescence is a simple, ascending raceme of about 40–50 cm, with flowers approximately 20–24 mm long. They are reddish-pink, with the characteristic swollen base of the Gasterias, which occupies more than half of the perianth. The flowers are pollinated mainly by sunbirds, while the seeds mature during the summer and are dispersed by the wind. SANBI notes that plants can reach flowering size in approximately 3 years from seed.

🌿 Nutrition
During the active growth period, Desert CHOICE® Aloes, Haworthias & Co. is recommended, with a high content of potassium and bio-assimilable calcium. It is applied with irrigation, reducing or suspending fertilization during the period of lower activity.

9x9 cm pot

This is an inimitable xerophyte grown in Madrid in a square technical pot with substrate activated with mycorrhizal fungi.

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