Synonyms:

There are not synonyms for this plant.

Habitat:

Graptopetalum ‘Vega’ has garden origin.

Description:

Graptopetalum ‘Vega’ is a beautiful perennial succulent belonging to the Crassulaceae botanical family. The plant has a solitary habit, forms a dense and compact rosette of leaves and can reach up to 15 cm in diameter. The leaves are obovate to triangular, glabrous, flat, fleshy, dull green in color, slightly pointed at the apex and the rosette is depressed at the center. Blooming occurs in late spring and in early summer and the blossoms are born near the top of the rosette by long woody stalks. Flowering lasts a few weeks and the inflorescence is branched at the base. Flowers are star-shaped with 5 petals magenta to red with pink stamens tipped with white anthers. The leaves can change hue taking on shades from yellow to pink depending on sun exposure and temperatures. The opaque green of the leaves in contrast with the shocking pink flowers make this plant unique and perfect to give an original look to your home.

Cultivation:

This is a fast growing plant, easy to cultivate. The plant needs a full light sun exposure but is recommended to avoid direct sun-light during the summer. Long exposure to direct sun-light can cause burns and burnt spots. The minimum temperatures that the plant can withstand are 8° C, below this temperature it begins to suffer and going down further it no longer survives. Too low temperatures can cause the stem or leaves to break due to water freezing inside the tissues. Temperatures between 10 and 15 °C allow the plants to enter vegetative rest which is essential for the flowering of the following year. Plants should not be placed inside the house where average temperatures of 20 degrees prevent vegetative rest. The best draining soil for this genus is made up of 40% fertile loam, 40% pumice and 20% coarse sand. The pumice should always be placed on the bottom of the pot. Remember to use a perforating pot to drain excess water. Watering can be done regularly during the vegetative period. In Spring and Autumn, the plant can be watered with half a glass of water every week; in summer it can be watered with two glasses of water a week; in winter stop the watering to allow the plant to enter dormancy. Decrease the amount of water if the plant is kept indoors or if the pot is smaller than 12 cm. The plant must be fed with a high potassium fertilizer in the summer. You can dilute the fertilizer twice a month in the irrigation water. If the pot starts to be too small for the plant you can repot the plant in a pot 2 cm wider. Repotting should be done early in the growing season with fresh new potting soil; it is usually done every 3-4 years. Be careful to red spiders and mealy bugs.

Propagation:

The easiest and fast method of propagation is to use cuttings. For leaf cutting you can cut some healthy leaves and plant it in a pot with sand and loam. Place the pot in a warm and bright environment and in 1-2 months the cuttings will be ready to plant. By cutting you can use the offsets during the spring. Cut an offset and then let it 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. It is advisable to use rooting hormone at the base of the cut to energize root development. For cuttings it is recommended temperatures around 20 °C.

Curiosity:

The plants of the genus Graptopetalum in English are also called “Leatherpetal”, that means leather petals: they have flowers with particularly thick and sturdy petals, although small and grouped in inflorescences.

Official Web Site:
www.giromagi.com

Italian Blog:
www.giromagicactus.com

Tips:
Read our advice