€7,95

🌱 Morphology
Perennial succulent subshrub, highly branched, forming dense clumps about 40–100 cm tall. The stems are robust, erect, and become woody with age. Both stems and leaves are densely covered in tiny, whitish stellate hairs, responsible for its characteristic velvety appearance. The leaves are opposite, petiolate, flat, thick, and fleshy, ranging in color from light green to grayish-green; the blade is obovate, ovate, or orbicular, approximately 3–6.5 cm long and wide, with a rounded apex ending in a small acute tooth and an irregularly sinuate-dentate margin with broad teeth.

🌍 Distribution, habitat, and family
Family Crassulaceae. Species accepted by Kew, native to south-central and southeastern Madagascar, where it grows in dry forests and seasonal xerophytic scrublands.

❄️ Temperature — USDA Zone 9b–11a
It is a warm-climate species with low frost tolerance. SANBI specifically notes that severe frost can cause the plant to die. It is recommended to keep it dry when temperatures drop and to protect it from frost and cold dampness. The indicated USDA Zone is a guide representing the average annual minimum temperature of the area, not a guarantee of plant survival.

☀️ Lighting
Intense lighting is recommended, with a target of 15–25 mol·m⁻²·day⁻¹ of DLI PAR during growth. It tolerates everything from filtered sunlight to direct sun after gradual acclimatization. With stronger lighting, the foliage may take on slightly golden tones, while under more filtered light it remains more grayish-green.

💧 Growth cycle and irrigation
Summer dormancy. It is a species adapted to environments with marked seasonality. During growth, it is recommended to water abundantly and allow the substrate to dry out completely before watering again. In winter, water supply should be significantly reduced, especially at low temperatures. Its densely tomentose foliage does not indicate a high humidity requirement: excess water, especially when combined with cold, significantly increases the risk of rot.

🌸 Flowering
It develops terminal inflorescences in relatively dense corymbiform panicles of about 2–10 cm. The flowers are erect; the calyx can show yellowish-green to orange tones and is covered in glandular hairs. The corolla is tubular, yellowish-green to orange-yellow, although there are populations with white or white flowers tinged with pink. In Spain, it can be expected mainly during spring and summer, approximately between April and July.

An especially interesting aspect is its response to photoperiod: in an experimental study, K. millotii flowered only after 16 weeks of short days, and did not flower under prolonged night lighting. Therefore, sufficiently long nights during the preceding period may be important for inducing flowering.

🌿 Nutrition
We recommend Desert CHOICE® Succulents during the active growth period. Before flowering, it can be supplemented with Desert CHOICE® Flowering, especially when the goal is to promote inflorescence formation.

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

Basic collection plant in a 9x9 cm pot

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