Family: Aizoaceae
Habitat: South Africa
Cultivation: Rather strong and slow-growing plant, it needs little attention to grow lush: lots of sun, a well-dried soil to be watered  sparingly, few fertilizing
Curiosity: They are part of Mesembrantemi , or “noon flowers” that before were part of a separate genre while in the most recent  years they have been subsumed under the Aizoaceae. The flowers, in fact, open only at certain times of the day; those of the Hereroa usually in the late afternoon.

The Hereroa Key Features

The plants of the genus Hereroa are  perennial, of small dimensions, they can reach up to 10 cm in height and 30 in width. The stem has herbaceous consistency and fleshy; the leaves are elongated, green and grow along the stem in opposite pairs. The flowers are, yellow, with numerous thin petals and they only open  at certain times of the day – usually in the late afternoon. Given their robustness and ease of cultivation, combined with the small size, they are used as ground cover plants for decorative compositions, as green roofs or in rock gardens.

Variety and Types

Here it follows a list of Hereroa species recognized up to now (excluding hybrids and varieties of the same species).

• Hereroa albanensis
• H. angustifolia
• H. aspera
• H. brevifolia
• H. calycina
• H. cana
• H. carinans
• H. concava
• H. crassa
• H. dolabriformis
• H. dyeri
• H. fimbriata
• H. glenensis
• H. gracilis
• H. granulata
• H. herrei
• H. hesperantha
• H. incurva
• H. joubertii
• H. latipetala
• H. muirii
• H. nelii
• H. odorata
• H. pallens
• H. puttkammeriana
• H. rehneltiana
• H. stanfordiae
• H. stanleyi
• H. stenophylla
• H. tenuifolia
• H. teretifolia
• H. triebneri
• H. tugwelliae
• H. uncipetala
• H. vallis-pacis
• H. willowmorensis
• H. wilmaniae

TIPS FOR GROWING

As already said, the specimen is, simple to cultivate and because of that it is also used as ground cover or for green roofs. The only risk is the cochineal, which will be eliminated with a suitable product as soon as you notice its presence on the stem or on the back of the leaves.

These are our recommendations to have lush Hereroa.

• They prefer full sun exposure, but they also adapt to partial sunlight situations.
• The ideal temperature should always be above 5 ° C, but they survive even brief frosts down to -7 ° C if the ground is left dry.
• Water with extreme caution in summer and in winter. The seasons in which the plant grows more and needs more water are, however, spring and fall.
• Make sure, in any case, that the soil is very well drained. The soil can also be poor, such as the one found in the cracks of the rocks, or sandy.
• Fertilize in fall and spring with a specific product for succulent, making sure to use only half of the recommended dose on the label.
• To repot, best to proceed in spring – when the plant is at its most vegetative phase and can better react to the stress of repotting. Since this is a slow and small in size plant, it is not necessary a frequent repotting.

For the reproduction of Hereroa you can wait for spring or autumn.

For the cuttings, it is recommended to cut a shallow end of the plant so that it includes a leaf a little of the trunk and root; when the cutting is buried, make sure, also by a support stick, that most of the leaf remains out of the ground and that the cutting is positioned straight, so that the roots can continue to move downwards.