Orostachys japonica

October 23, 2011

I dare say that imaginary ladder of attractive and interesting plants, the genus Orostachych holds one of the front seats. We are in the gardens already commonly grown species zimovzdorné Orostachych Boehmeria and Orostachys spinosa. Sometimes there are other resistant species, which is Orostachys malacophylla. I would like to mention the lesser known species, which is Orostachys japonica. This significantly succulent species in its present offshore in the river sands and gravel, with areas of occurrence in Korea, Japan and China.

Japonica in my collection first appeared several years ago. I planted young plant to locate the dish and place in the sun with Jovibarba. Well it was just the right location, because I did not record during the season not particularly large gains, there has been no subsidiary or rosette and the top of my shameful treatment of succulents in this was that the plant remain through the winter outdoors. If the snow cover, everything was no problem, insulation work 100%. Orostachys, while on the brink of death survived the winter, but once the spring thaw came, with alternating frosts, plant it finally gave up. It was my first and not very successful meeting with this species.

Because information on growing in our country is woefully low, not to say none at all, growing practices in the less known species work as an old friend, an attempt - a mistake. This was the case here. Next year, I got another seedling, growing and I gave her attention. After a bad experience last year with the solar sunburn, I locate the bowl on the peripheral position in the sandstone rockery stones, which dates back to the afternoon sun for 16 hours. Heat, sunburn, and not too regularly in the evening mist through the rockery and increased humidity during the hot sunny days. And that was exactly it, after all, comes from coastal areas.

The plant is grown so beautifully colored, roses are drunk, leaves are shiny and bright green color due to their habitat due September. At the end of the summer, lime green leaves from their peaks begin to get rid of with hundreds of tiny red dots in red. The red color is at the very top of the list the most significant and towards the base gradually disappearing. Around this time the plant begins to appear in the middle of the beginning of flowering roses. It grows to a height of 30 cm. White or light pink flowers open in our country from the month of November to January. Since this is a monocarpic plant, rosette dies after dokvětu. Deliberately do not mention that the plant is a biennial, because I quite often happens that a young daughter and roses still bloom the same year.

If Orostachys japonica grown in a dish, it must be before the first frosts of autumn clean to a protected place. Nature does not tolerate even the slightest temperature dips below freezing. If the plant is planted in loose soil, I recommend a cut, put into the dish and also clean up in a cool place. I witnessed a sunny windowsill in a room with a minimum temperature of 5 ° C. During the winter the plant should be checked occasionally and slightly moisten the substrate. Wintering is consistent with other chladnomilnými sukuletními plants of the family Crassulaceae.

beauty-houseleek © 2011