Synonyms:

Adromischus triflorus
Cotyledon triflora
Adromischus procurvus
Cotyledon procurva
Adromischus subcompressus
Adromischus subpetiolatus
Cotyledon bolusii

Habitat:

Adromischus truncates is native to South-Africa where the plant grows on gravelly lower slopes or in rocky outcrops and the plant can spread up to 1800 m of altitude.

Description:

Adromischus truncatus is a dwarf very sought after shrub succulent belonging to the Crassulaceae botanical family. The plant is forms a cluster of decumbent stems and can reach up to 20 cm in height. The roots are fibrous and taproot. The leaves are decussate, oblanceolate to obovate-spatulate and are tapered at the ends. The leaves are fleshy, thick, silvery grey to greyish brown, shortly petiolate, convex on both sides and with purple edges at the apex. These plant differs greatly from individual to individual in shape, color, size and habit. Blooming occurs from December to January in its habitat but during the summer in cultivation and the buds are curved at the apex and are borne by stalks up to 35 cm long. The inflorescence is a thyrsi made of 3-5 flowers. The flowers are small, tubular, club-shaped, yellowish-green with green calyx. This species can be easily confused with Adromischus liebenbergii or with Adromischus maculatus but differs from these species for the flowers and for the size.

Cultivation:

The plant has a slow growth rate but it easy to cultivate. The best sun-exposure is in bright place but is recommended to avoid direct sun-light in the hottest periods. The minimum temperatures that the plant can withstand are 10° C, below this temperature it begins to suffer so it needs to be placed indoors in the coldest periods. The perfect soil is a well-drained soil that let the water to drain away and avoid root rot. To achieve this feature, you can mix the pumice soil, clay and soil. Using a perforating pot, you can drain excess water. Watering is very important for this species and should be done well: during the vegetative period you can water the plant (every 7 days), checking that the soil is completely dry before watering again; in winter you should stop the watering to allow the plant to enter dormancy. About fertilization, for this plant is sufficient to fertilize moderately during the growing season with the specific fertilizers for succulents and stop fertilizing during the winter. You should repot the plant every 2 years in a pot 2 cm wider. Repotting should be done early in the growing season with fresh new potting soil. Be careful to red spiders and mealy bugs.

Propagation:

Propagation can be done by cutting or by seed. By cutting you can make the cut during the spring and then let the cutting dry; after a few days the cut surface will dry and a callus will form, then place the cutting in a mixture of sand, soil and pumice. To increase the success of propagation you can make two or more cuttings at the same time. For cuttings it is recommended temperatures around 20 °C. By seed it is very simple to propagate the plant, it is enough to sow the seed in a sandy loam soil and keep it with a high level of humidity and at temperature of 14 C°.

Curiosity:

His name literally means “abundant rod”: it grows in clumps of fleshy leaves, which are grouped in rosettes. The genus name Adromischus was chosen by Lemaire in 1852 and it comes from the Greek “adros” (thick) and “mischos” (stem).

Official Web Site:
www.giromagi.com

Italian Blog:
www.giromagicactus.com

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