Types And Cultivation Of Faucaria (Faucaria) Indoors

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

According to the horoscope, the zodiac sign Scorpio (October 24 - November 22) corresponds to Dracaena (dragon tree); wicker ginura (crocodile); common oleander; dope snow-white; the stocks are variegated; aloe cap-shaped; prickly mine grate; desert cacti: aporocactus lash-shaped, Cereus of Perun, Sylvester's chamecereus, Gruson's echinocactus, Strauss's cloestocactus, golden yellow lobivia and famatima, geometric mortillocactus, Berger's prickly pear; faucaria is tiger.

Faucaria from the Aizovye family (Aizoaceae) - an unusual in appearance plant (5-10 cm high) in the form of a low star-shaped rosette of leaves - is rarely found in the collections of ordinary florists.

Its interesting feature is the presence of more or less long teeth on the leaves - thorns located along their edges and giving the plant a peculiar decorative appearance. This distinctive feature is reflected in the Latin name of the genus -Faucaria (from the Latin word faucium - mouth), which includes about 40 species.

The homeland of this succulent is the arid zone of South Africa (Cape Province), where it is found everywhere. It is able to climb and grow well in crevices of rocks, and in some flat places forms powerful thickets. Under natural conditions, faucaria is forced to receive moisture in the form of dew, which is formed at night with sudden changes in temperature, and from moist winds blowing from the sea.

In faucaria, shortened stems are fixed in the soil with the help of fleshy bright green (sometimes waxy) leaves, which are often found in 4-6 specimens in commercially available specimens. Although the average lifespan of domestic potted faucaria is 4-5 years, the culture reaches no more than 12-15 cm in height by 10 years of life under favorable conditions.

In summer and autumn, daytime flowers, deprived of peduncles, appear from the outlet (fully open at noon), golden-yellow flowers (5-6 cm in diameter), resembling daisies in shape.

When grown, it is a very unpretentious plant that thrives best on a bright sunny windowsill. It needs bright light daily for 3-4 hours in direct sunlight to ensure flowering.

In summer, it is able to withstand any fluctuations in temperature (optimum 20 … 22 ° C), from the beginning of active life until mid-November (the beginning of the dormant period), it needs regular (every two weeks) abundant watering. Leaves are not allowed to get water.

Top dressing with weak solutions of complex mineral fertilizers is desirable (but not required): every 4-5 weeks with a weak solution of complex fertilizer after preliminary spilling of the soil substrate with a small amount of water.

For good heating of the soil substrate in summer, experienced flower growers advise to put a layer of fine dark gravel on its surface, this will contribute to the early flowering of the plant in autumn. Then watering is reduced by December and almost no watering until mid-March. The most suitable temperature for faucaria in winter is 13 … 16 ° С (minimum 10 ° С).

Since March, watering has been gradually increased. Excessive watering in winter during a dormant period can cause rotting of the base of the plant and slowing down its growth, which will lead to its failure to die.

Transplant - every 2-3 years - in spring, when the plant completely occupies the entire surface of the soil substrate. For this purpose, a mixture of leafy earth and sand is prepared; the plant is not watered for the first three days after transplantation. Faucaria is characterized by a small root system, so shallow containers are selected for it.

This plant is propagated in early spring by seeds formed after cross-pollination, or by rooting of leaf rosettes - by dividing an overgrown curtain, by cuttings or by cutting stem fragments (July-August), which are dried before planting for 24 hours, after which they are planted in a mixture of sand and fertile soil …

The most common of the species, the tiger faucaria (F. tigrina), is a short plant with fleshy bluish-green leaves 5 cm long, growing on the stem crosswise. They are covered with many small dots with long (but soft) curved teeth with a hair-like end located along the edges: all this together very much resembles a jaw with teeth.

Faucaria weakly toothed (F. paucidens) slightly differs from tiger: its light green (with dark green strokes) leaves are less toothed (1-3 teeth on the edge).

Faucaria tuberous (F.tuberculosa) - a plant with a short branched stem and fleshy roots. It has opposite, base-fused thick, dark green leaves 2 cm long, 1.6 cm wide, rhombic or almost triangular in shape. On their upper side there are dentate tubercles, and it was from these external features that the view got its name. The flowers of the tuberous faucaria are up to 4 cm in diameter.

Wolf faucaria (F.lupina) has lanceolate leaves, triangular at the end, the upper surface is bright green, rough, with a cartilaginous border along the edge and 3-5 pairs of teeth bent back and hairy at the end. In this species, the flowers are somewhat smaller - about 3 cm.

Of the pests on faucaria, several species of root mealybug and less often aphids may appear. The mealybug is usually localized in the rosette, but with a high number, its individuals are also found on the leaves.

This pest is characterized by an elongated oval body (3-4 mm in size), which is covered with a waxy powder. It is better to gently scrape it off the succulent leaves by hand with a razor blade. Can be washed off with a 0.2% aqueous soapy suspension of liquid potassium soap (20 g / l). For greater efficiency, actellic (2 ml / l) can be added to this solution.

The root bug is found in the soil substrate and on the roots of the plant. When its number is low, only inhibition of plant growth is observed, but with a high number, severe damage to the root system is possible, which may well lead to the death of the faucaria. The presence of a mass of white waxy sacs on its surface testifies to the colonization of the soil by the root worm.

Sometimes the grower gets the impression that the top soil is as if covered with lumps of cotton wool (the earth seems to be sandwiched with these lumps). With the help of a magnifying glass, it is easy to recognize them as female insects - oblong-oval white or pink insects less than 2 mm in size.

To rid the plant of this pest, a transplant is necessary, during which its root system is carefully examined, removing the worm. As a safety net, it will not hurt to then shed new soil with a 0.2% suspension of the above accaridide. Single specimens of aphids are removed by hand or washed off with soapy water (this solution should not get on the soil), and if necessary, the chemical method is used actellic.