Synonyms:

No synonyms are recorded for this species name.

Habitat:

Graptoveria “Melody” is a nursery hybrid and doesn’t exist in nature. All Graptoverias are hybrids obtained by the crossing of plants belonging to the genus Graptopetalum and the genus Echeveria. Echeverias are native to Central and South America, while Graptopetalums are from Mexico and Arizona.

Description:

Graptoveria “Melody”, like all Graptoverias, is a hybrid, in this case between Echeveria Ebony and Graptopetalum mendozae. It is a very tough plant, like every Graptoveria, and it consists in one or a bunch of rosettes of fleshy, greyish-bluish green leaves. The colour of the leaves is almost complex: it is something between grey, yellow, brown, blue and green. Younger leaves, located at the very central part of the rosette, are more bluish, while outer, older ones are more yellowish-brownish. All the leaves have a reddish hint on their edges, which is particularly pronounced on their tip. Like it often happens in plant equipped with rosettes, older leaves are longer than younger ones, to be able to receive some sunlight. A peculiar feature of G. “Melody” are the reddish-black bumps located near the tip of the central, younger leaves. The inflorescence is a cyme borne on an elongated stem that sprouts from the central part of the rosettes in spring. Being a hybrid, the flower produced are not fertile. cyme is a particular type of flat-topped inflorescence in which the central flowers open first, followed by the peripheral flowers. In this case, it is actually a scorpioid cyme, as it is slightly curved and looks like a scorpion’s tail. Flowers are, however, inconspicuous, white, yellow, or of a pale pink.

Cultivation:

Like all crassulaceae, Graptoveria are tough and easy to grow. Here below are our tips for cultivation:

Choose a position in full sun: direct rays will enhance its colourful tinges, especially reddish. Be careful to protect it from direct sunlight at least during the hottest hours of the day in summer.
Graptoveria “melody” can’t stand cold temperatures: even in winter, take care to leave it always above about 7°C.
Just as for the Echeverias, water regularly every 2-3 days in spring and summer but stop in winter. If you water it too much, the soil won’t have time to dry out and roots may rot; if too little, the rosettes will shrivel up. Be careful not to water the rosettes because the stagnant water inside them could cause rottings.
Use a standard soil for cacti, not too rich in nutrients and very draining.
Fertilize in spring, once a year during the growing season, better if in Spring, with a specific product for succulents.
Repotting will probably be necessary every spring, as Graptoveria “Melody” is a fast-growing species.

Propagation:

Hybrids do not produce fertile seeds. It will be very easy, however, to obtain new seedlings using as cuttings either single leaves or suckers sprouting at the base of the plant (and which can be either small rosettes or small branches).

Curiosity:

Graptoveria is a hybrid of Echeveria and Graptopetalum. Some nureseries refer to it as “X Graptoveria”:The “X” in front of its name sometimes indicates that it is not a naturally occurring species but a hybrid developed by nurserymen. Graptoverias are very tough plants, being the result of a crossing between very tough plants: they are perfect plant for beginners in the world of ornamental gardening.

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