Aisoonic family. Homeland South Africa. In nature, about 120 species of plants in the form of small shrubs with succulent leaves.
Delosperm species
- Delosperma echinatum - with thin rising stems, up to 30 cm high. Leaves are opposite, cross-shaped, ovoid or spherical, about 1.5 cm long. Leaves are bright green, covered with so-called papillae - transparent outgrowths of skin. Outwardly, it seems that the leaves have bristles. The flowers are single white or yellowish, about 1.5 cm in diameter. This species is most adapted to room conditions.
- Lehman's delosperma, Delosperma lehmannii, is a stunted succulent with creeping reddish stems, eventually forming broad curtains. The leaves are sessile, trihedral, glaucous or light green. The flowers are yellow, large - with a diameter of about 4 cm, very spectacular.
- Alpine Delosperma alpinum - fleshy leaves are dark, young growths, especially in specimens not growing on the southern side they are green with a reddish base, in adult plants, especially in a sunny place, leaves are almost plum-colored, flowers are white.
There are several more species of delosperm, characterized by brighter and more abundant flowers, grown in Mediterranean countries as groundcovers for decorating flower beds and flower beds. However, these species, as a rule, are not successful as houseplants - they are too demanding in care conditions.
Many species of Delosperm, for example, the blackberry Delosperma echinatum, still do not have official taxonomic status - in the plant list of Kew Gardens and the Missouri Botanical Garden they appear as "unresolved." At the same time, they are not attributed to the close genus Mesembriantemum.
- Delosperma sutherlandii Sutherland's delosperm is another ground-cover species, stalks creeping, up to 50 mm long, spear-shaped leaves, about 50 mm long and 15-20 mm wide, rough. The flowers are large, up to 7 cm in diameter, saturated pink, almost purple.
- Delosperma nubigenum cloud delosperma - shoots are short, but form a continuous green carpet, up to 5 cm high. Leaflets are fleshy, bright green, almost triangular in shape with a convex back side. The flowers are yellow about 5 cm in diameter.
Delosperm - care and cultivation
Temperature: in summer, the usual room, although in the heat above 28 ° C plants should be shaded. In winter, it is desirable to provide a rest period at a temperature of 10-12 ° C, at least 8 ° C, with a dry content. It is advisable to provide enough fresh air in plant care - best of all on a glazed balcony, where it is light and ventilated without drafts. On the balcony, the delosperm can stand until October in dry ground.
From spring to autumn, it is better to keep the plant outdoors. However, it is worth fearing rains, especially if the plant, not having time to dry, falls under the sun's rays. Even a plant accustomed to the sun can get burns.
In nature, delosperm grows in open rocky areas or in low undergrowth, dry climate, but with pronounced daily temperature differences, when the temperature drops by 10-12 degrees overnight and moisture comes with dew instead of rain.
Lighting: Full solar lighting all the time. If the windows are not sunny, in winter during the heating season you cannot do without additional lighting. Use fluorescent (phyto lamps) or LED - they can be placed about 5-7 cm from the leaves.
Watering: moderate during growing season. They water very carefully, if by night the temperature drops or during periods of spring-summer cooling (cloudy and rain), the roots easily rot from excess water. During the rest period with cold maintenance, watering is stopped completely. In many ways, the correctness of irrigation depends on the structure and quality of the soil.
Top dressing: only if the plant has not been transplanted for more than two years. Fertilizer is taken in a dose half as much as recommended by the manufacturer or special fertilizer for cacti.
Air humidity: these succulents tolerate dry air well and do not need spraying.
Transplant: Into small pots as needed, when the roots fill the entire pot. For planting, you can use the following soil: 1 part of the turf earth and 1/2 parts of very small pebbles (3-5 mm) and 1/2 parts of vermiculite. You can use universal soil from the store, but also dilute it with sand, vermiculite or well-washed zeolite. The correct soil for succulents should very quickly (in seconds) absorb water when watered and dry out very quickly (no longer than 2 days). Pots for planting are wide and shallow, in plastic - large drain holes at the bottom or good drainage.
Well-drained soil is one of the keys to the successful cultivation of delosperm. In its pure form, peat or store soil is not suitable for growing succulents, loosening components are necessary - preferably small gravel or pebbles, quartz sand: for crops, rooted cuttings and leaves about 2-3 mm, for transplanting adults - larger - about 4-5 mm. You can replace them with zeolite granules from cat litter (Barsik type, non-compacting and insoluble), they need to be washed to clean water.
Reproduction
Delosperma is propagated by seeds, cuttings, leaf.
The easiest and fastest way to get a new plant from a handle is by cutting off a 5 cm sprig from the top of the shoot. You need to remove the leaves from the lower part of the handle, leaving a piece of bare stem about 2 cm. Prepare a small pot (about 5 cm in diameter and 7 cm high), put a clay shard on the bottom, fill the soil (peat or leaf earth in half with small pebbles), very moderate humidity - the earth is not damp, and not dry!
In the soil, make a recess with a pencil or pen rod. Stick the stalk in and squeeze the ground lightly. Do not water for two days, moisten the soil slightly on the third and then water moderately enough, but not allowing the substrate to dry into dust. Keep rooted cuttings under light shade, preferably without sharp fluctuations in temperature in the first month, while roots are formed. Young leaf growth appears - this is a sign of successful rooting, you can accustom plants to full sunlight.
Rooting from a leaf is practically no different, except that rooting does not require pots, but a low and wide plate. The soil is the same (a mixture of earth and pebbles, 2-4 mm in size), you can take very large river sand or vermiculite instead of pebbles. Substrate humidity is moderate, without excessive dampness! Leaflets broken from the mother plant must be laid out on the surface without digging. Put in a light warm place. Moisten the soil from the sprayer once a day. Soon, a tiny bunch of new leaves will appear at the base of the leaf.
Delosperm seeds can be sown at any time if it is possible to provide heat and light. Crops in wide areas under the film, in a mixture of universal peat soil and small pebbles in equal parts.
Germinate at a temperature of about 25 ° C, moistening from a sprayer. As soon as seedlings appear, you need to provide enough light (you can fluorescent or LED lamps).
