Synonyms:

Graptopetalum suaveolens

Habitat:

S. suaveolens is native to Mexico Northeast

Description:

S. suaveolens is a succulent resembling an Echeveria belonging to the Crassulaceae botanical family. The plant is extremely different from other species of the genus and can reach up to 45 cm in height and 20 cm in diameter. The succulent is stemless and forms a rosette of leaves. The leaves are obovate, fleshy, flat, glaucous-green in color, smooth and curved at the tip. The leaves are covered whit a whitish powdery and turn red in winter when temperatures go down. Blooming occurs from late spring to early summer and the inflorescence is a corymb appearing from within the rosette. The flowers are star-shaped, made of 5 white petals and yellow stamens, borne by short greyish stalks. The crested form has lanceolate leaves longer and narrower than normal.

Cultivation:

This is a slow growing plant, easy to cultivate. The plant needs a full light sun exposure but is recommended to avoid direct sun-light in the hottest periods. The plant does not like temperatures below 10°C so it needs to be placed indoors in the coldest periods. The soil should be mixed with pumice, clay and loam to allow the drainage and prevent the root rot, the plant is prone to it indeed. Remember to use a perforating pot to drain excess water. Watering can be done regularly in Spring and Summer: during the vegetative period you can water the plant (every 7 days), checking that the soil is completely dry before watering again; in winter you should stop the watering to allow the plant to enter dormancy. If you want a faster and lush growth you can fertilize the plant once a month during the growing season with the specific fertilizers for cacti; stop fertilizing throughout the winter. 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. Be careful to red spiders and mealy bugs.

Propagation:

Propagation can be done by cutting or by seed. By cutting you can make the cut during the spring and then let the cutting 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. For cuttings it is recommended temperatures around 20 °C. By seed it is very simple to propagate the plant, it is enough to sow the seed in a sandy loam soil and keep it with a high level of humidity and at temperature of 14 C°.

Curiosity:

Sedum means ‘plant, annual herb’ in Latin. Such a generic name is justified by the wide distribution of this genus. Recently, this plants have become pupular in roof coverings, the so-called “green roofs”. It takes its name from the sweet and spicy scent, that its small white spring flowers spread. The forma crestata is a natural mutation that occurred in the S. suaveolens population and that was selected and propagated vegetatively.

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