€26,50

Gasteria nitida (Salm-Dyck) Haw.

🌱 Morphology
A medium-sized, acaulescent, slow-growing Gasteria, solitary or capable of producing basal offsets forming small clumps. It can reach 6–20 cm in height and 5–28 cm in diameter. The roots are succulent and can reach about 12 mm in diameter. In young plants, the leaves appear in two opposite rows and have a tuberculate surface; as it matures, the plant develops a spiral rosette of triangular-lanceolate, ascending leaves, measuring 1.6–18 × 2.5–8 cm. They are very fleshy, with a smooth, shiny, dark green surface, with white spots that form irregular transverse bands, ranging from very discreet to dense. The upper side is channelled and the lower side has a very characteristic eccentric keel. The margin is usually entire and the apex acute, ending in a small white tubercle.

🌍 Distribution, habitat, and family
It is a species endemic to the Eastern Cape province, South Africa, widely distributed throughout the coastal and subcoastal region of the southeastern Cape, from southeast of Uniondale to the vicinity of the Great Fish River mouth, penetrating inland as far as Grahamstown. It is found from low-lying areas up to about 1,000 m in altitude. It grows on rocky terrain, generally in mineral-poor and slightly acidic quartzitic sandstones of the Cape Supergroup, including the Table Mountain and Witteberg groups. It is part of the Kouga Grassy Sandstone Fynbos and grassland communities, and can be found both in full sun and light shade. Annual precipitation is around 600–800 mm, distributed between winter and summer, although there is a tendency towards summer dryness.

Family Asphodelaceae, tribe Alooideae, section Longiflorae, series Multifariae. The series Multifariae includes species with triangular leaves and relatively slender flowers.  

❄️ Temperature — USDA 9b
It tolerates minimum temperatures of down to approximately −4 ºC in cultivation. Horticultural references place G. nitida in USDA 9b–10, although in its natural habitat frosts are non-existent or light. For cultivation in Madrid, it is especially important to keep it dry during cold spells.

☀️ Lighting
It prefers shade–partial shade, although it is one of the Gasterias capable of withstanding quite high lighting: in nature, it is found both in full sun and in light shade. With plenty of light, it develops shorter, more compact leaves; in shade, their length and green color increase. An approximate target of 10–20 mol/m²/day of DLI PAR is recommended, avoiding sudden changes in exposure.

💧 Growth cycle and watering
Opportunistic. It does not have a strict summer dormancy. SANBI indicates that it can be watered throughout the year, although it recommends reducing watering in winter. In summer, it can remain active provided that the substrate drains quickly and partial drying is allowed between waterings.

🌸 Flowering
Flowering occurs mainly in early summer, approximately between June and July. The inflorescence is an ascending, laxly branched panicle, extraordinarily long for the size of the plant: 20–120 cm, capable of reaching about 50 cm in width. Young plants may initially produce a simple raceme. The hanging flowers measure approximately 20–25 mm, are intense reddish-pink, with a swollen base about 5–8 mm in diameter and a 4–5 mm tube. They are pollinated by sunbirds, and the seeds mature in late summer and throughout autumn.

🌿 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 fertilization during periods of lower activity.

12x12 cm gourmet black pot

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

• Hassle-free returns

• Free Shipping on orders over €79.99

• Secure and protected payment guaranteed.