Synonyms:

No synonyms are recorded for this species name.

Habitat:

Dudleya greenei cv. White Sprite is native to Santa Rosa island, near East point. It is endemic of this area: in the whole world only one population, of around 3200 plants, is known. Its habitat are rocky, volcanic soils at altitudes between 20 and 70 meters above the sea level. The population is protected from grazing by a fence, as it’s the only population of this species. Deers, however, are still a problem, as they are able to jump on the other side of the fence. Also collectors may result as a threat for this species. If nursery-grown Dudleyas cv. White Sprite become more widely available on the market, this will be less and less a problem.

Description:

Dudleya greenei cv. White Sprite is a rare species of succulent, very sought after by succulent collectors. It has been found out only in 1997. It is a compact plant, consisting in a cluster of short, thick stems which grow from a main caudex, and end up in rosettes. There can be up to 60 rosettes in each clump! A caudex is a enlarged stem that has the function to store water and nutrients to overcome dry periods. The rosettes, instead, are compact and with their leaves very close to each other. Leaves are fleshy, bluish-grey, triangular but with a rounded apex, not pointed, curved upwards, with the outer ones more elongated and the inner ones smaller. They sometimes show a red tinge close to the tip. In late Spring, the inflorescence appears: it is a cyme borne by an elongated stalk (13 centimeters tall). A cyme is a kind of inflorescence with many flowers, shortly peduncolated and very crowded (like the one of broccoli!). In D. greenei cv. White Sprite, the inflorescence usually bears 10 flowers. Flowers are very small, less than 1 centimeter long and yellow, and turn into small fruits called follicles.

Cultivation:

Here below are our cultivation tips to grow your Dudleya greenei cv. White Sprite:

Put it in a bright spot, exposed to direct sunlight. You may provide it with some shade at least during the hottest hours of summer days.
It is preferable to keep it above 7 °C. During the winter, we advice to shelter it or to put it indoors.
D. greenei cv. White Sprite is one of the few succulent that prefers moist winters. Its native climate has, in fact, dry hot summers and humid winters. Watering tips are thus the opposite to the usual ones for succulents: the irrigation should be regular in Autumn and Winter and completely suspended in Summer, when the plant goes dormant, even if the leaves start to wither. In Summer, in fact, the roots aren’t able to absorb water because of the and are very prone to rot.
Choose, as usual, a well-draining substrate, better if sandy and very porous. A succulent mix will do good.
They do not need frequent fertilization. It is enough to dilute the fertilizer with watering once a year.
Repotting can be carried out once every two years, as D. greenei cv. White Sprite grows more slowly than other Dudleyas.

Propagation:

The propagation of D. greenei cv. White Sprite can be carried out either through seeds and through offsets. In Spring or early summer, take off the offsets and replant them. Dudleyas should be planted obliquos, at an angle, to prevent the stagnation of water in the leaves, which can cause rotting of the plant. Cuttings should be left to dry out at least for 10 days before planting them. This process should be carried out at temperatures above 20-21 degrees, and the cuttings should be planted in a well-drained rooting substrate, made up of perlite (75%) and cactus mix (15%). The seeds, instead, require a moistened soil for germination. Placing them into a mist house at an optimal 20-21 degrees Celsius with sufficient lighting resulting in germination. Germination occurs in just two weeks.

Curiosity:

The Dudleya genus owes its name to William Russell Dudley, director of the botanical department at Stanford University.

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