Graptopetalum - home care for the "stone rose"

Tell me if a plant like graptopetalum blooms, what should be the care at home for it? In the spring I bought a small outlet from my hands, the seller said that it was a rooted baby. Over the summer, it did not grow much, or rather, new leaves appeared, but the bush almost did not become higher, only 2 cm, I checked. Although I like it so much, but just wondering, will it remain dwarf or will it still stretch? And will it bloom or is it more decorative?

Succulents have always been popular due to their unpretentiousness, but it is doubly pleasant when they are also beautiful. This is exactly what graptopetalum is, home care for which is as simple as for a cactus. But, unlike the latter, it blooms much more readily and more often, although not so brightly, but more gently. But the plant itself will delight you with its unusual, almost fabulous, forms, because its leaf rosette itself looks like a flower.

What does graptopetalum look like?

One of the most decorative species of the bastard family, graptopetalum is a genus of slow-growing succulents. They can vary significantly in height. There are dwarf species no higher than 5 cm. And there are tall graptopetalums growing from almost 1 m. Tall species have fleshy branchy stems, compact ones do not. But the leaves are the same in all varieties of culture. Thick, juicy, almost triangular, they grow in a spiral, gradually overlapping each other, and form a dense rosette. The color of the foliage is bluish-gray, with a waxy bloom. There are even more decorative varieties, the tips of the leaves of which are dusted with a pink-red blush.

At the end of spring, peduncles appear from the axils of the leaves; in most species they are quite tall. At the top of the peduncle is a small-flowered inflorescence. The shape of the flowers is very similar to an open star, and pink and red predominate in color, although there are white-flowered species.

For the characteristic shape of the leaf rosette, graptopetalum is called “stone rose”.

Graptopetalum - home care

A stone rose can grow in any conditions and does not require much attention:

1. Bright illumination is only good for the succulent, the daylight hours of which should be at least 10 hours.
2. Summer heat up to plus 30 ° C does not care for the bush, but it should winter in a cool place. From November to February, the plant has a deep rest, during which the flower stalks are laid.
3. During the growing season, water the flower sparingly, remembering that it succulent... In winter, watering is reduced to once a month.
4. From spring to autumn, it is enough to apply mineral fertilizer for succulents once every 4 weeks. During the dormant period, the flower is not fed.

It is necessary to transplant graptopetalum only when the outlet becomes cramped. It is better to use wide bowls, because the roots of the plant are superficial. At home, a stone rose reproduces mainly by leaf cuttings or children.

We grow an unpretentious succulent - the Mexican star graptopetalum