Synonyms:

No synonyms are recorded for this species name.

Habitat:

Pachyphytum glutinicaule is native to Mexico, where it grows scattered among rocky plains or either under taller bushes or trees, in highly arid environments at variable atitude ranges.

Description:

Pachyphytum glutinicaule is a small succulent plant, very appreciated among succulent lovers for its peculiar, cute succulent leaves that look like some strange blue biscuits, being flattened but hard and succulent at the same time. The leaves are bluish-silver green. According to the specimen, they can be more or less numerous. In any case, they can be found always arranged in a rosette. Also, leaves are glaborus and might show some reddish tinges, that look enhanced if the plant is exposed to intense sunlight. This purplish hint is particularly evident on the leaf tip. Along with the odd leaves, another very decorative element of this plant is its inflorescence: it is a cyme, borne on an elongated peduncle. A 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. The beautiful feature of it is the intense, dark red of the flower stalk, very flashy and striking, and also the more scarlet red of the bell-shaped flowers, equipped with five, triangular lobes and a succulent, bluish-reddish grey calyx. The blooming season of P. glautinicaule occurs usually in Spring and Summer.

Cultivation:

P. glutinicaule is not so difficult to grow. Here below are our tips for its cultivation:

Choose a very bright place, but not under direct sunlight: the plant survives anyway, but the leaves may become more fragile. Direct sunlight, however, enhance its reddish tinges. You may also plate it in a spot in which it stays in the shade during the hottest moments of the day and it gets direct sunlight in late afternoon and early morning, to reach a compromise.
Pachyphytum glutinicaule must stay at temperatures of 7-8 ° C: protect it in winter. If you plant it in a pot, you will be able to move it indoors or in a greenhouse during the cold season.
Water once every 6 days in spring and summer, taking care to avoid water stagnation: wait for the soil to dry up completely before each watering! Suspend completely any irrigation in winter, unless the plant will experience root rot.
Use a light and sandy soil. A standard soil for succulents will do good. Also, you can mix a universal substrate for ornamental plants with some gravel, pumice and perlite to enhance its draining capacities..
The plant does not have a great need of fertilization. Apply a product for succulent once during the vegetative season, using half of the doses recommended on the packaging.
Pachyphytum glutinicaule tends to stay small and won’t need to be re-potted often. Once every two years is okay. Actually, it will do good even if left in the same pot for many years. 

Propagation:

The most used and easy method of propagation is leaves cutting. Pachyphytum’s leaves make excellent cuttings and are generally used for reproduction. Place a leaf, removed from the mother plant, in a sandy bed in spring, after having left the wound to dry in a warm place for a few days. Water moderately and keep the cutting at a temperature of about 21 ° C until it puts roots.

Curiosity:

In spite of the name, which literally means “big plant” (from the Greek “pachys” large and “phytos” plant), they are medium or small size and can reach 15 to 60 cm in height, according to the species .

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