Gasteria bicolor ‘Biriformis’ | Bicolor mosaic gasteria
€21,20
🌱 Morphology
Compact, fleshy, and highly variable Gasteria, capable of forming clusters via basal offsets. The leaves, shiny and dark green, initially appear in two opposite rows and, upon maturity, can arrange themselves into a more open rosette. They are lanceolate to slightly falcate, thick, and somewhat laterally twisted, with white or pale green spots organized in irregular transverse patterns. In some specimens, an eccentric keel appears and the apex terminates in a small rigid tip. The natural variability of G. bicolor is considerable, even within the same population.
The name ‘Biformis’ does not designate an independent modern cultivar: it corresponds to the old Gasteria biformis Poelln., a name currently considered a synonym for Gasteria bicolor var. bicolor. Therefore, the plant should be understood as a historical form within the variability of this species, not as a hybrid of documented horticultural origin.
🌍 Distribution, habitat, and family
Family Asphodelaceae, tribe Alooideae, section Gasteria, series Gasteria.
It is endemic to the Eastern Cape (South Africa). Gasteria bicolor has a wide distribution range within this province, with records from the surroundings of Port Elizabeth/Gqeberha and the Swartkops River towards the interior, including areas near Grahamstown/Makhanda, Fort Beaufort, and the valleys of the Fish and Great Fish River. It lives among thorny thickets and Albany Thicket vegetation, on rocky slopes and humus-rich soils, frequently protected by shrubs. Some wild specimens even grow on north-facing grassy slopes.
❄️ Temperature — USDA 9a
Tolerates minimum temperatures down to −7 ºC. In cultivation, it is advisable to protect it from prolonged frosts, especially if the substrate remains moist.
☀️ Lighting
Shade–partial shade, preferably with abundant, filtered light. Protection from shrubs in its habitat explains its good adaptation to moderate light intensities. Indicative DLI PAR: 10–20 mol/m²/day.
💧 Growth cycle and irrigation
Opportunistic. The distribution of G. bicolor presents mainly summer rains, but it can also receive winter precipitation, and the plants tolerate drought periods. It is recommended to water when the substrate has dried out, adapting the frequency to the temperature and reducing it during cold periods.
🌸 Flowering
It can bloom at almost any time under cultivation, although flowering is usually concentrated between winter and spring. It produces a branched inflorescence of up to about 45 cm, with tubular, hanging flowers, approximately 20–30 mm long, pink or coral at the base, transitioning to cream and greenish tones towards the top. They are rich in nectar and are adapted to pollination by nectarivorous birds.
🌿 Nutrition
During the active growth period, Desert CHOICE® Aloes, Haworthias & Co. is recommended, with high content of potassium and bioavailable calcium. It is applied with irrigation, reducing or suspending fertilization during the summer dormancy.
12x12 cm gourmet black pot
This is an inimitable xerophyte grown in Madrid in a high-tech square pot, with the substrate activated with mycorrhizal fungi and biofungicides.
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