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Gasteria baylissiana
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Description: Gasteria baylissiana is one of the
most beautiful - and variable - species of the genus. It is a very slow-growing plant with distichous rosettes up to 10 cm in diameter (but
usually less). Will clump.
Leaves: Short, arched, leathery with rounded leaf tips, rough
textured. The predominant colour is light-grey or dark grey-green. (When
spring light increases, leaf edges show a pinkish tinge). the
leaves are more or less uniformly mottled with minute grey-white spots
and tubercles.
Flowers: Mostly reddish-pink, up to 2 cm,
pendulous, stubby, and
greatly inflated, that look like tiny stomachs. The
inflorescence is usually unbranched.
Blooming season:
Flowers
peak
from
March thought April, but can be produced
any time of year.
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Family: Asphodelaceae (Liliaceae - Aloaceae)
Scientific name: Gasteria
baylissiana Rauh
Common Names include: Lawyer's Tongue
Etymology: The Gasteria baylissiana is named
after Colonel Roy Douglas Abbott Bayliss, a botanical explorer and plant
collector in Oudekraal, South Africa..
Origin: South Africa, Eastern
Cape Province of South Africa, Suurberg range.
Type Locality: Oudekraal, south of Somerset East
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This is a rare miniature succulent, usually distichous, with grey
tongue-like leaves… and very slow growing.
Makes a pretty cluster
over time
Cultivation: They
are of relatively easy culture, which makes them a good houseplant, and
they can be an excellent subject for the beginning gasteriaphile (they
can grow
easily on window sills, verandas and in miniature succulent gardens
where they are happy to share their habitat with other smaller succulent
plants, or in outdoor rockeries) Need light shade to shade, but will
take full sun part of the day. (with some sun exposure the leaf develops
a nice reddish tint, and remains compact).
They are tolerant of a wide
range of soils and habitats, but prefer a very porous potting mix to
increase drainage. During the hot summer months, the soil should be kept
moist but not overly wet. The plants are fertilized only once during the
growing season, with a balanced fertilizer diluted to ˝ the recommended
strength. During the winter months, water only when the soil becomes
completely dry.
Propagation:
Gasteria is easily propagated by the removal of offshoots or by leaf
cuttings in spring or summer. To propagate by leaf cuttings, remove a
leaf and let it lie for about one month, giving the wound time to heal.
Then lay the leaf on its side with the basal part buried in the soil.
This leaf should root within a month or two, and small plants will form
at the leaf base. They can also be grown from seed. |
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