€26,50

🌱 Morphology
   One of the largest species in the genus Gasteria, slow-growing, with a very short stem, and typically solitary, although it occasionally forms small clumps. It can reach 60 cm in height and 75 cm in diameter. The leaves form a dense rosette and are extraordinarily fleshy, triangular to triangular-oblong, ascending, spreading, or somewhat recurved, 10–40 cm long and up to 18 cm wide at the base. The adaxial surface is channeled and dark green; the abaxial surface is convex and features a keel clearly offset from the center. Both surfaces show faint white mottling arranged in transverse bands. The margin can be white, translucent, and very sharp, ending in a small hard tip. Juvenile plants are very different: they have distichous leaves (arranged in two rows), densely mottled with white, and with tubercles on the adaxial surface. The leaves are brittle, and exceptionally, a broken leaf can generate new plants.

🌍 Distribution, habitat, and family
Endemic to South Africa, Eastern Cape province, with an extensive distribution from Port Alfred southwest to the Msikaba River in the northeast, reaching inland as far as Somerset East and Cala, at elevations of up to 1,400 m. It lives in Albany Thicket and Eastern Valley Bushveld, especially in shady spots, under shrubs and trees, and on south-facing rock faces. It grows on substrates derived from shale, mudstone, quartzitic sandstone, and dolerite, always with good drainage. Rainfall is around 600–1,000 mm annually, mainly in summer. It belongs to the family Asphodelaceae, tribe Alooideae, section Longiflorae, series Multifariae.

❄️ Temperature — USDA 9a
It tolerates minimum temperatures down to −7 ºC in dry and protected conditions according to horticultural records, although its natural habitat is subtropical and frosts are infrequent. For cultivation in Spain, it is recommended to avoid the combination of intense cold and moist substrate.

☀️ Lighting
It prefers bright shade to partial shade. In the wild, it frequently lives under the shrub canopy or on protected cliffs, although it can tolerate higher light levels if acclimated gradually. Approximately 10–20 mol/m²/day of DLI PAR is recommended, avoiding intense sun during the central hours of the day.

💧 Growth cycle and watering
Opportunistic. SANBI indicates that it can be watered throughout the year, although the natural response is conditioned by summer rains. It is recommended to water when the substrate is practically dry, providing water more regularly during active growth and reducing watering when activity or temperatures decrease.

🌸 Flowering
Its flowering is spectacular: it develops 1–3 large, highly branched panicles, which can reach 1–1.9 m in height and up to 2.4 m in diameter. Each plant can produce hundreds of flowers. The pendulous flowers measure 22–26 mm and are pink, occasionally white, with a notably swollen base and narrow green stripes towards the upper section. Flowering occurs mainly between November and February, during the austral summer. The flowers are pollinated by nectar-feeding birds, especially sunbirds. In cultivation, it can flower from approximately 3–4 years of age when propagated via leaf cuttings.

🌿 Nutrition
During the active growth period, Desert CHOICE® Aloes, Haworthias & Co. is recommended, which is high in potassium and bioavailable calcium. It is applied with irrigation, reducing or suspending fertilization during periods of lower activity.

12x12 cm gourmet black pot

This is an inimitable xerophyte cultivated in Madrid in a high-tech square pot, with the substrate activated with mycorrhizal fungi and biofungicides.

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