Synonyms:

х Gasteraloe cv. Green Ice
х Gastrolea cv. Green Ice

Habitat:

 Gasteria cv. Green Ice is a nursery hybrid and thus it doesn’t exist in nature. Gasterias, in general, are native to South Africa and Namibia.

Description:

Gasteria cv. Green Ice is actually a Gasteraloe, which is a nursery hybrid between an Aloe and a Gasteria species. It has been obtained by crossing an Aloe variegata with a Gasteria hybrid called Gasteria cv. Old Man Silver, or Gasteria cv. Little Warty. The cultivar “Little Warty” is itself a hybrid obtained by crossing an “Old Man Silver” with a Gasteria batesiana: that’s why it is possible to obtain our “Green Ice” from both the above mentioned hybrids. Gasteria cv. Green Ice is very appreciated among succulent lovers for the high decorative potential of its leaves, perfectly triangular, slightly tongue-shaped and curved outwards, clumping in beautiful rosettes that multiply agamically and eventually occupy all the available space in the pot, creating a decorative, glowing effect. The reason of its name, “Green Ice”, lies in the colour of the leaves: a peculias tinge of pale green, between a teal, a blueish glauco, and a light green, with some longitudinal stripes of dark green that look like brushstrokes. The inflorescence rise from the centre of the rosette and looks pretty like the one of Aloes: it is an elongated, brownish succulent stalk, bearing several tubular flowers in a spike-like arrangement. The flowers, like in Aloes, are tubular, elongated, (1-2 centimeters in length), with their petal completely fused in the corolla tube, with the only exception of 6 triangular lobes, 1 millimeter long. They are coral in colour, with their terminal part tinged in pale yellow. Being a nursery hybrid, Gasteria cv. Green Ice usually produces sterile seeds, contained in capsule-shaped fruits.

Cultivation:

Gasteria cv. Green Ice is a tough plant, though rather slow-growing. Here below are our tips:

Put it at light shade or full shade, though it might enjoy some direct sun in the coldest moments of the day.
It is very resistant to frost: its minimum tolerable temperature is -1ºC. However, we advise to place it indoors during the Winter, to stay safe and also to avoid Winter rains that might cause root rot.
Keep the soil slightly moist (though not too wet) during the warm season (Spring and Summer) and suspend, instead, any irrigation in Winter, reducing gradually the irrigation frequency during the Autumn.
Choose a well-draining soil: a standard substrate for succulents will be okay.
Fertilize once a year, during the growth season, with a product specific for succulents, rich in Potassium and Phosphorus and poor in Nitrogen.
It is a slow-grower, so repotting isn’t so frequently necessary. Repot it anytime you seee it outtgrows its pot.

Propagation:

Gasteria cv. Green Ice is propagated mainly through the removal of offsets or through leaf cuttings in Spring or Summer. After detaching a leaf, place it on a fresh, sandy substrate to be maintained moist: it should put root in about a month. Remember to give to the wound the possibility to heal before planting the leaf. Seeds can’t be used as mediums of propagation, being this plant a nursery hybrid they aren’t fertile.

Curiosity:

The name “Gasteria” comes from the greek Gastèr, that means belly, stomach, which refers to the shape of the flower, which is bell-shaped and reminds a small bag which then narrows towards the top. The cultivar name, “Green Ice”, refers to the extremely peculiar colour of its foliage: between a teal, a light-green, and a glaucous blue.

Official Web Site:
www.giromagi.com

Italian Blog:
www.giromagicactus.com

Tips:
Read our advice