Synonyms:

Adromischus rupicola
Cotyledon trigyna

Habitat:

Adromischus trigynus is native to South Africa, where it gros among rocks in semi-arid habitats at a wide range of altitudes.

Description:

Adromischus trigynus is a dwarf, perennial succulent, very appreciated in ornamental gardening for the extreme simplicity of cultivation and small size that make it the perfect plant to decorate a desk or a shelf for an office or a living room. It is a small cluster of rosettes, formed by peculiar, orbicular, flattened leaves, very decorative for their teal colour mottled with purple spots and purple edges. The entire plant never exceeds the size of 5 centimeters in height and 12 in diameter. There are two forms of this species: the regular A. trigynus and the A. trigynus “Calico heart”. “Calico heart” usually shows thicker leaves, more tongue-shaped than flattened, with a more flashy leaf spotting, while the regular A. trigynus is mainly green, its leaves are more flattened and less spotted. This distinction, by the way, is not so clear-cut, and there are many intermediate forms. Flowers, as in all Adromischus, are racemes (which is the botanical term for “clusters”) of several little, white-pinkish flowers that sprout at the top of long stalks in late Spring.

Cultivation:

Adromischus trigynus is not difficult to grow. Here below are our cultivation tips:

Choose a bright spot, where the plant can receive plenty of light. If you place it indoors you will need to put it close to a sunny window. A direct exposure to sunlight could, however, cause leaves wrinkling the leaves: check that the plant isn’t exposed to direct sunlight for too many hours a day.
Choose a well-ventilated place. Adromischus doesn’t like stagnant air.
Adromischus trigynus love hot temperatures (the ideal is 24 ° C), but it though can resist to cold. Its limit is 5 – 10 ° C. In winter it is good to place them in a sheltered environment and, especially, away from rain: water stagnation on the rosettes can be fatal. We advise you to put it indoors, sto stay safe in winter.
We advice to apply regular watering in summer (approximately every two weeks), scarce in winter (one per month). Nevertheless, if the plant is located indoors, it will need to be watered more frequently.
Choose a well-drained soil: for example, a mixture of peat and sand with the addition of a little of gravel.
The fertilizer can be limited to the growing season and after any repotting, always with a product specific for succulents, diluted at half of the dosed written on the label.
All Adromischus remain modest in height but are highly ground covering. Repotting it is not necessary to increase the size of the plant (unless one wishes to develop in width: if so, wide pots must be used) but it is useful to keep it in good health and to slow the aging.

Propagation:

The propagation of Adromischus trigynus can be very easily carried out through cuttings, using the leaves. Just cut off a healthy leaf, let it rest one day in a warm environment to let the wound dry, and finally place it upright in a pot with a light, porous soil. Start to take off cuttings when the plant begins to age; all Adromischus, in fact, aren’t so long-lived: after a few years, they begin to wither and to lose their leaves even though they are grown under optimal conditions.

Curiosity:

The name ” Adromischus” comes from the ancient Greek adros (=thick) and mischos (=stem). The species name “trigynus”, instead, is probably due to its flowers, that has three ovaries.

Official Web Site:
www.giromagi.com

Italian Blog:
www.giromagicactus.com

Tips:
Read our advice