Family: Apocynaceae
Habitat: Africa, Australia, Southern Asia
Cultivation: Unlike what you may think, Ceropegias are not so simple to cultivate. They are delicate and really sensitive to rotteness and several hilnesses. Commercially available species are actually the most tough and can be grown without any problem.
Curiosity: The name “Ceropegia” is derived from the greek words “Keros”, wax, and “Pege”, fountain. That’s because of its flowers, fountains of wax, which have a swollen shape, really peculiar, and strange, waxy petals.

KEY FEATURES

The genus Ceropegia includes several succulents native from a wide area which includes Africa, Asia, Australia.
These plants have a climbing or creeping habit and generally slim stems and tuberous roots. They can reach big dimensions, depending on the species and the growing habitat.

Their leaves grow in opposite couples along the stems and branches, with the various couples well spaced from each other. Leaves are generally succulents and can have oval shapes or can be also heart-shaped. Sometimes their colours are streaked. C. woody, the most famous species of the genus, owes its notoriety to the form of the leaves, heart-shaped.

Their habit and the marvelous leaves make Ceropegia much used as upholsterers of grids or, more frequently, for hanging pots.

Also their flowers are remarkable: they have the shape of an umbrella, swollen, formed by thick petals with a waxy consistency. Their colour depend on the species but vary between white-green to different hints of pink.

VARIETY AND TYPES

Here below are some species of Ceropegia. Try to check our online shop in the section “Ceropegia” to find them!

• C. africana
• C. ampliata
• C. antennifera
• C. arabica
• C. arenaria
• C. aridicola
• C. aristolochoides
• C. armandii
• C. ballyana
• C. barbarta
• C. barkleyi
• C. bonafouxii
• C. bosseri
• C. cancellata
• C. candelabrum
• C. carnosa
• C. ceratophora
• C. chrysantha
• C. cimiciodora
• C. crassifolia
• C. debilis
• C. decidua
• C. denticulata
• C. devecchii
• C. dichotoma
• C. dimorpha
• C. dinteri
• C. distincta
• C. elegans
• C. filiformis
• C. fimbriata
• C. fusca
• C. galeata
• C. gemmifera
• C. haygarthii
• C. hians
• C. intermedia
• C. jainii
• C. juncea
• C. krainzii
• C. leroyi
• C. linearis
• C. lugardae
• C. multiflora
• C. nilotica
• C. pachystelma
• C. petignatii
• C. racemosa
• C. radicans
• C. rendallii
• C. robynsiana
• C. rupicola
• C. sandersonii
• C. senegalensis
• C. seticorona
• C. somaliensis
• C. stapeliiformis
• C. stentii
• C. striata
• C. succulenta
• C. superba
• C. turricula
• C. variegata
• C. verrucosa
• C. viridis
• C. woodii
• C. zeyheri

TIPS FOR GROWING

Here below are some tips to cultivate your Ceropegia:

Sun Exposure:
If grown outdoors, Ceropegia prefer a half-sun position. If kept indoors, a bright point is recommended. Avoid drafts, especially cold ones.
Temperature:
The ideal temperature for Ceropegia is around 25ºC in the vegetative phase, never below 10-15ºC in Winter, depending on the species. For their scarce cold tolerance they are often cultivated indoors.
Watering:
Water with little water every 3-4 days, waiting always for the soil to dry up before watering again. In Winter,thin out waterings, but never suspend them completely.
Fertilization:
Fertilize twice a year, once in the beginning of Autumn, once in the beginning of Spring, using a specific product for houseplants.
Substrate:
Choose a substrate rich in organic matter, but light. For example, a mix of pebble and sand, lightened with pieces of bark, is perfect.
Repotting:
Repotting is necessary every 3-4 years.
Propagation:
Ceropegias are generally propagated by branch cuttings or either the tuberous outgrowth that grow among the branches. You have to detach these outgrows from the plant in the beginning of Spring and plant them, paying attention to keep the pot in a warm and humid place, as if it would be a cutting.