Gibbaeum HAAGEI

Gibbaeum HAAGEI - Haage's gibbaeum, Gibbaeum haagei.

Seed series 'Living Stones'.

Gibbaeum is a genus of highly succulent plants in the family Aizoaceae, comprising about twenty species. All of them are endemic to the Little Karoo in the Cape Province of South Africa, where they grow on gravelly plains and rocky slopes, often hiding almost completely among stones.

Plants consist of one or two pairs of leaves on each short stem and over time form small dense clusters. Leaves in a pair are usually unequal in size, 1 to 10 cm (0.4-3.9 in) long, and in some species are covered with hairs. The root system is well developed, so in culture gibbaeums need fairly deep pots.

Flowers are solitary, 2 to 5 cm (0.8-2.0 in) in diameter, white, pink, purple, or lilac, occasionally violet. They open at midday and close at dusk. Unlike most other living stones, the dormant period in gibbaeums falls in June-August, and active vegetation begins in autumn.

Haage's gibbaeum is a species from the Little Karoo, forming compact clusters 5-10 cm (2-4 in) in diameter. Wedge-shaped leaves are no more than 4 cm (1.6 in) long, gray-green, sometimes with a reddish tint, with elongated and slightly twisted tips.

Flowers are about 3 cm (1.2 in) across, pinkish-purple, rarely white, with numerous narrow petals, making them resemble small daisies. Flowering occurs in autumn or spring.

Gibbaeum seeds are very small, almost dust-like, ripening in dry capsules that open with moisture. Soaking such seeds is impractical - they are easily lost in liquid, so the substrate itself is disinfected: before sowing, it is drenched with a weak solution of potassium permanganate and dried. Scarification and stratification are not required.

Sowing is carried out on the surface without burying - seeds are merely pressed lightly against the moistened surface of the mineral substrate. The sowing is moistened from a spray bottle with a growth stimulant solution: SUPERthrive, HB-101, Aminozol, Epin, or Zircon, covered with plastic wrap or placed in a mini-greenhouse, and germinated in light, but not in direct sun, at a temperature of 22-25 °C (72-77 °F). Crops are regularly ventilated; overwatering and drying out of the surface are unacceptable.

Under favorable conditions, the first sprouts appear after 1-2 weeks, main germination is usually completed within a month, while individual seeds can take longer. Seedlings grow slowly and are especially sensitive to excess moisture. Pricking out is carried out no earlier than when the young plants become noticeably stronger and form their first true pair of leaves, into individual deep pots.

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Gibbaeum requires strong lighting year-round, both in summer and in winter. With a lack of light, the plant loses compactness and blooms poorly.

For normal development, it is desirable to maintain a temperature of about 17-18 °C (63-64 °F) year-round, and in winter not lower than 15 °C (59 °F).

In summer, during the dormant period, the plant is kept completely without watering. Watering begins only in autumn, with the onset of growth, and even then the substrate should remain only slightly moist. Overwatering is fatal for gibbaeum.

The substrate is composed of equal parts turf soil, leaf mold, and coarse sand. Due to powerful roots, a pot with a depth of at least 7 cm (2.8 in) is chosen, with drainage mandatory at the bottom.

Fertilization is carried out 1-2 times during the growth period with cactus fertilizer at a concentration 2-4 times lower than indicated on the package. During the dormant period, fertilizers are not applied.