Gasteria

Gasteria: flower description

Gasteria: photo of a plant

Gasteria belongs to the Asphodelic family. Originally it succulent plant from arid regions located in the territories of South African countries. The Latin name of this plant is "Gasltron" and means a pot-bellied vessel, which is the basis of such a strange name. The fact is that the perianth has a tube, at the bottom of which there is a kind of swelling.

The succulent Gasteria has a very shortened stem, which is covered with tough leaves. They can be arranged in two rows, or in many rows. The dark green mottled and striped leaves of the gastria flower can be of various shapes. Some may have rough surfaces, but most are smooth. They are different in length, 4-25 centimeters, but their width is always the same, the top is round or pointed. Their surface is concave or flat. The flowering of gastria is amazingly beautiful, the length of the peduncle can reach 70 centimeters. In adult gastria, their formation occurs between all deciduous rows. Inflorescences are collected in compact peduncles resembling a brush in shape. They are painted in bright shades of yellow, green and orange. The shape of the flowers resembles a harp, hanging attractively from its short legs. The flowering of gastria is alternate. When some bloom, others bloom. This plant pleases with its flowering for 30 days.

Gasteria: home care

Gasteria: flower photo

Choosing the Right Lighting for Gastria at Home

Gasteria will grow comfortably in shady areas, but in the summer it is more suitable for places with a lot of light, but without direct sunlight, especially in the middle of the day. An excellent option for her would be places in the east or west. In the north, it will also develop, but you should not wait for flowering.

In the summer, the succulent gasteria can be used to decorate the veranda or any corner in the garden, but the place should be chosen so that the plant is not exposed to drafts, direct sunlight and precipitation. If conditions do not allow taking the plant outside the house, then the room where Gasteria is grown must be constantly ventilated.

When the autumn-winter period comes, it is necessary to increase the amount of incoming light with the help of artificial lighting, without shading the Gasteria flower. Adequate lighting can be provided using fluorescent lamps, which should be no closer than 30 centimeters from the plant and no longer than 50 centimeters. The flower of gastria should take light baths for at least 8 hours, but artificial lighting can be used within 16 hours.

Temperature conditions

For the well-being of the indoor plant Gasteria, the thermometer should not fall below +18 and rise above +25 degrees during the spring-summer period. In winter, when the plant is at rest, the temperature can be from +6 to +12 degrees. If you create the right conditions for maintenance, the plant will bloom for a long time and profusely. If you keep the plant at the same temperature throughout the year, then you can not wait for flowering. If in winter the plant is kept at a temperature exceeding + 15 degrees, then this threatens the drying of the inflorescences even in the outlets.

Humidity level

The microclimate that is now in modern apartments is quite suitable for gastria and there is no need to take any additional measures to improve the humidity.

Rules for watering gastria at home

Indoor plant Gasteria and requires abundant watering, starting from the first days of spring and ending in late autumn. Watering is carried out only when the topsoil dries up. This should be done in such a way that water does not stagnate in the ground, since excess moisture can harm the plant. In winter, watering of gastria should be minimized, especially if the plant is kept at a temperature less than +12 degrees.

Top dressing

During an active growing season, namely from the beginning of May to September, Gasteria should be fed twice a month with the help of complex mineral fertilizers intended for the succulent plant species. The concentration of substances should be low. When the plant enters the dormant stage, with the onset of cold weather, all feeding should be stopped.

Succulent gasteria: flowering

Succulent gasteria: flower photo

If you properly care for Gasteria, it will be able to please with its flowering at home, but if it stands on the north side, then there will be no flowering. Gastria flowers are similar to an elongated bell and have its irregular shape, their length is about 2 centimeters. They can be pink or reddish and appear in both spring and summer. These flowers cover long 100 cm flower stalks. It can accommodate about 50 bright, unique and incredibly attractive colors.

Gasteria: planting, transplanting and breeding at home

Gasteria loves soil with good moisture and air permeability. The acidity level should be around pH 5.6-7. To prepare the required soil, use leafy soil, peat and sand in a ratio of 2/1/1. To increase drainage, it is necessary to add brick chips. You can buy a ready-made mixture for growing a cactus in a specialty store.

When and how to transplant gastria at home:

Most indoor ornamental plants need to be transplanted, and this also applies to gastria. Gasteria must be transplanted in the spring-summer period every two years. Plants that have developed well are taken from one pot and transferred to a larger one, removing the growths at that moment. If these increments are available, then it will not be difficult to immediately plant another, new plant. It should always be remembered that tight pots at the bottom of which there is a drainage layer are more suitable for transplanting gastria.

Breeding methods for gastria:

Gasteria can multiply by seed and by separating root growths, which are also correctly called daughter rosettes. Getting seed is not easy enough. For this it is necessary to carry out pollination of flowers. This can be done by shaking the plant, then wait for the pollen to settle and carefully collect the seeds. Without this, it will be difficult enough to see the seeds. The first sprouts can be seen in the month of July. If there is no need to collect seeds, then as soon as the flowering ends, you need to remove the peduncle so that the plant does not waste energy on seeds. It is interesting to know that aloe planted nearby is capable of pollinating Gasteria, so you can grow a unique hybrid. This is possible due to the similarity of the characteristics of these plants.

Due to the rather long development of Gasteria planted with seeds, most gardeners prefer to propagate the flower using root growths. It is necessary to hold such an event in the last days of spring or in the first days of summer. During this period, it will not be difficult for young plants to strengthen themselves. After the plant takes root, it must be watered. This should be done more often than the mother plant. At first, development is rather slow, but after a couple of years and with proper care, it can already demonstrate a bright and beautiful flowering.

Diseases and pests

If you create the conditions necessary for a houseplant Gasteria, take care of it correctly, then diseases and pests may never touch it.

The occurrence of problems is often associated with a violation of the recommendations for planting and grooming.

• If you add too much liquid and allow water to stagnate, then the soil will begin to acidify and soon, this will lead to rot on the roots, as well as fungal diseases and bacterial infections. If the leaves fade and lose their elasticity, then there is an excess of moisture in the soil.
• If soft brown spots are found on the molts, then the plant is infected with a bacterial infection.
• If decorativeness is lost and the leaves turn pale, it means that the plant does not have enough moisture. Most often this happens in the summer.

Among the pests, most often on the plant you can find mealybugs, scale insects and aphids.

Gasteria: species with names and photos

• Gasteria warty is a perennial stemless plant, with leaf plates gathering in a rosette located at the very root, with a large number of daughter ones. The leaves are 20 centimeters long, in the form of an elongated tongue and are covered with small whitish warts. Each sheet with a sharp point at the tip turns into a sheet in the form of a tongue.
  The racemose inflorescence of warty gasteria forms between the stem and the upper leaf, its height can reach 80 centimeters. It is collected from small flowers 2 centimeters long and grows looking down. The outer part of the flower with a slight swelling at the base resembles the shape of a cylinder. It can be colored pink or red, and the lobes at the ends are colored green.
  

Gasteria warty: plant photo

• Spotty - The stem of this spotted hydrangea is just over 30 centimeters. It is covered with smooth triangular leaves. They stretch 20 centimeters in length and 5 centimeters in width. The outer side of the leaf plates is covered with slightly noticeable inclusions of various shapes and are randomly arranged in two rows turning into a spiral. They have dense structures and convex shapes. The compact brush in which they are collected resembles the shape of a funnel painted in bright red with a green border.
• Gasteria carinata - this succulent variety does not form a stem and leaves with a sharp oblique keel on the inside, arranged in a spiral. Leaf plates have lanceolate forms up to 15 centimeters long, and their width is up to 7 centimeters. They are dirty green in color and are covered with whitish blotches. The surface of the keel and edges is warty and rough to the touch.
  

Succulent gasteria: flower photo

• Gasteria liliputana is a miniature stemless long-lived plant with a large number of shoots forming at the base. The leaves are colored dark green and grow up to 6 centimeters long with a glossy surface and lanceolate shapes. Blotches of white are located on the surface. The rosette diameter can be up to 10 centimeters. Shoot formation occurs near its base. The height of the peduncle is about 30 centimeters. The flowers are attractively shaped, colored green at the top and pink at the bottom. Their length does not exceed one and a half centimeters.
• Gasteria saber-shaped - refers to a stale succulent. Its leaves form in a large rosette. The leaves resembling the shape of a wide sword and located at the bottom grow up to 30 centimeters in length and 7 centimeters in width. Their location is ribbon-like. Their surface is glossy green and covered with large dots. The length of the flowering shoot is about 100 centimeters, on it there are 5 centimeter bright red flowers that are slightly curved.
  

Succulent gasteria: flower photo

• Gasteria Armstrong is a small plant with thick, hard leaves about 3 centimeters long with a very irregular shape. Leaves with wrinkled tips, with a rounded and blunt shape, are covered with small warts.Armstrong is unique in its growth, which first goes up and then begins to develop horizontally. This gasteria pleases with its rapid flowering onset, during which it is covered with small flowers.
• Gasteria bicolor is a herbaceous long-liver cultivar of two flowers, whose height does not exceed 30 centimeters. Dark green leaves with white, milky spots reach 15-20 centimeters in length, up to 5 centimeters in width. They are tongue-shaped and have an uneven ribbed surface, and they are placed obliquely but vertically. In this species, the rosette is much more developed than in other species.
  

Succulent gasteria: flower photo

• Gasteria caespitosa is a stemless plant with rows of leaves spread across. Their length is 14 centimeters, and their width is only 2 cm. They are dark green in color with greenish-white spots randomly located on the outside. When gasteria begins to bloom, it releases flowers painted in red or pale pink, 2 centimeters long.
• Gasteria candicans - this species does not form a stem, it has leaves in the form of a wide sword, the formation of which occurs in a large rosette. The leaves are 30 centimeters long and 7 centimeters wide. The height of the flowering shoot is about 100 centimeters, the branching is rather weak. Flowers of bright red color with a curved shape are formed on it.
• Gasteria marmorata - This species also lacks a stem. Its leaves in the form of a wide tongue are colored marbled green, and on top have white spots with a silvery shade.
  Succulent Gasteria: flower photo