shows active growth. 🌱 Morphology

Small succulent hybrid, acaulescent with fleshy leaves grouped to form a compact, elevated rosette. The leaf surface is dark green, covered with numerous whitish dots and small spots, which in some specimens are arranged in lines or longitudinal patterns. The leaves are stiff and erect, although the outermost ones may open slightly sideways.

🌍 Distribution, habitat, and family

This is not a wild species, but an intergeneric horticultural hybrid belonging to the Asphodelaceae family.

Its name × Gasteraloe indicates a hybrid origin between Gasteria and Aloe, but no reliable source has been found to establish the specific parent species or cultivars of 'Tess'. Consequently, the parentage remains deliberately unspecified.

❄️ Temperature / USDA Zone — USDA 10a–11

The minimum cultivation tolerance is around −1 °C for short periods, provided the plant remains dry and protected from adverse conditions.

As a horticultural reference, it can be approximately placed in USDA 10a–11. This equivalence is indicative: the USDA zone expresses the average annual minimum temperatures and does not represent the absolute minimum temperature a plant can withstand.

☀️ Lighting — Indicative PAR DLI: 10–16 mol·m⁻²·day⁻¹

It thrives best with high light and partial shade, avoiding intense direct sun during the central hours of summer.

An indicative target of 10–16 mol·m⁻²·day⁻¹ of PAR DLI helps maintain a compact rosette and good leaf coloration.

💧 Growth cycle and watering

Opportunistic. Its growth primarily occurs during the temperate seasons, while extreme temperatures, both in summer and winter, can significantly reduce its activity.

Watering should be abundant, thoroughly moistening the substrate, and then allowed to dry completely before watering again.

During periods of intense heat, it is advisable to increase the interval between waterings if the plant enters relative dormancy. In winter, with low temperatures and less light, the substrate should remain dry for longer periods.

🌸 Flowering

Flowering occurs approximately between February and April.

It develops a lateral inflorescence with pendulous tubular flowers, characteristic of hybrids involving Gasteria and Aloe.

🌿 Nutrition

During the growth period, Desert CHOICE® Aloes, Haworthias & Co. is recommended, formulated with NPK 3-2-8 (Ca-Mg 8-1) and micronutrients.

Root application is done once a month with irrigation when active growth is observed.

During flowering preparation and inflorescence development, it can be supplemented with Desert CHOICE® Floración.

This is an inimitable xerophyte grown in Madrid in a technological square pot with substrate activated with mycorrhizal fungi and biofungicides.