€15,90

🌱 Morphology
Small, acaulescent Gasteria, slow-growing but very prolific, producing offsets from the base and eventually forming rounded clusters of up to about 25 cm in diameter. Young leaves appear in two opposite rows, but with maturity, they form a dense rosette. They measure approximately 5–7 cm in length and 1.5–1.8 cm in diameter at the base, and are thick, firm yet brittle, tongue-shaped, straight or slightly falcate, and end in an acute, mucronate tip.

Its most characteristic feature is the extraordinary bluish-green or glaucous coloration, produced by a waxy layer that reduces water loss. The surface is rough due to the presence of small raised tubercles. The upper surface is flat and can become slightly canaliculate during drought, while the underside is rounded at the base and features a clearly marked keel. The margins are provided with small white horny tubercles. Even a detached leaf can root and give rise to a new plant, a particularly effective adaptation in its cliff habitat.

🌍 Distribution, habitat, and family
It is an extremely localized endemic of the Eastern Cape, South Africa, restricted to the Kouga River region, where it grows in cracks and small ledges of quartzitic sandstone cliffs, mainly between 400 and 800 m in altitude. The plants occupy sheltered rock faces within the Gamtoos thicket of the Albany Thicket biome. They receive approximately 500–600 mm of annual rainfall, distributed between winter and summer. Average temperatures are mild, with highs of about 26 ºC and lows of 11 ºC, and frosts are rare or non-existent.

Family Asphodelaceae, tribe Alooideae, section Longiflorae, series Multifariae.

❄️ Temperature — USDA 9a
It tolerates minimum temperatures of down to approximately −6 ºC in cultivation. There are horticultural references that place it in USDA 9, although its natural habitat has much milder winters and rare frosts; therefore, this figure should be understood as a cultivation tolerance and not as a typical condition of its natural environment.

☀️ Lighting
Shade–partial shade. In the wild, it grows on sheltered rock faces, although it tolerates relatively high lighting if acclimatized. In hot climates, it is recommended to avoid intense direct sun. To maintain a compact rosette and the characteristic glaucous hue, an approximate target of 10–20 mol/m²/day of DLI PAR is suitable. SANBI expressly recommends partial shade and protection from full sun in hot climates.

💧 Growth cycle and watering
Opportunistic. The species receives rainfall in both winter and summer, and SANBI indicates that it can be watered throughout the year, reducing the supply in winter and providing deep watering during hot and dry periods. It is recommended to let the substrate dry out completely before watering again.

🌸 Flowering
The inflorescence is a simple raceme of up to about 25 cm, with hanging flowers 30–43 mm in length. They present the characteristic ventricose shape of Gasterias: the basal, swollen part is reddish-pink, while the upper tube narrows and acquires greenish-yellow to yellow tones. Flowering occurs mainly in January-February, during the austral summer, and the flowers are pollinated by nectarivorous birds, especially sunbirds. In cultivation, it can reach flowering size at approximately 3 years.

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

10x10 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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