Monanthes

Gender: Monanthes
Family: Crassulaceae
Habitat: North American and Canary Islands highlands
Cultivation: In greenhouse cultivate in standard soil for cactus, in full light. Outdoors in poor soil, well drained, in full sunlight.
Curiosity: Of the approximately ten known species of Monanthes, seven are native to the island of Tenerife.

MONANTHES KEY FEATURES

The Monanthes is a kind of small crassulaceae from the highlands of North Africa and the Canary Islands. These plants live at an altitude varying from 300 to 1000 meters. The Monanthes appear as a rosette of fleshy leaves, often covered with excrescences, located at the ends of thick and fleshy branches. Sometimes the leaves have a flat shape, but are often round or conical and create a pleasant aesthetic effect.

From spring to summer they produce small diurnal, star-shaped flowers, often in compact racemes or branched peaks. This type of succulent does not tolerate the cold and for this reason, in our latitudes, it is best to grow them in a pot so that they can be moved as soon as the temperatures decrease. From spring to summer they can be used to create outdoor flowerbeds, watering them moderately and fertilizing them monthly.

VARIETIES AND TYPES

This kind of plant contains about a dozen succulent species, mostly from the Canary Islands and in particular in Tenerife. Here is the complete list.

  • Monanthes anagensis
  • M. brachycaulos
  • M. dasyphylla
  • M. icterica
  • M. laxiflora
  • M. lowei
  • M. minima
  • M. muralis
  • M. pallens
  • M. polyphylla
  • M. polyphylla amydros
  • M. polyphylla polyphylla

TIPS FOR CULTIVATION

Like all crasulaceae, Monanthes are mainly robust and easy to cultivate. However, they are afraid of cold and mustn’t be left too exposed.

Here are our cultivation tips:

  • EXPOSURE: In the greenhouse cultivate in full light. Outdoors, in the sun.
  • TEMPERATURE: The species of this kind does not tolerate the cold. If the temperature drops below 10 ° C, move it inside, possibly in a warm greenhouse.
  • WATERING: Water moderately from spring to autumn. Suspend watering during the winter.
  • SOIL: In greenhouse cultivate in standard soil for cactus. Outdoors in the soil it prefers poor, well drained soil.
  • CONCIMATION: Use a non-nitrogen liquid fertilizer monthly, only during summer and spring.
  • REPRODUCTION: The Monanthes reproduce either by seed and by cutting. By seed, sow at about 20 ° in spring in a sandy soil and keep it moist until the plant has rooted.

By cutting it is possible to use small twigs and single leaves, depending on the species. In this case, the cutting can be buried in late spring or summer.

Recent Posts

Start typing and press Enter to search