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Gasteria hybrid aff. bicolor is a native of South Africa. It is the smallest member of the genus with shiny dark green leaves, mottled with white up to 2½ inches (7 cm) long by about 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide. They are of easy culture which makes them a good houseplant.
Blooming Time: In spring, the plant is adorned with small 5/8-inch (~2 cm) flowers that are pink and green.
Culture: Gasteria plants need full sun to partial shade. We grow ours under 25% shade all year, which helps to keep a rich color during our hot summers. A suitable potting mix consists of equal parts of loam and sand with small gravel added 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 ½ the recommended strength. During the winter months, water only when the soil becomes completely dry.
Propagation: Gasteria is propagated by the removal of offshoots in spring or summer.
Gasteria hybrid aff. bicolor was featured as Plant of the Week August 23-29, 2002.
For more information on Gasterias, see Gasteria Reference Collection by Breck Breckenridge who kindly annotated this specimen for us!
Guide to Past Plants-of-the-Week:
Cal's Plant of the Week is provided as a service by the University of Oklahoma Department of Botany & Microbiology and specifically Cal Lemke, who is OU's botany greenhouse grower and an avid gardener at home as well. If the above links don't work, then try the overview site. You may also like to look at the thumbnail index. To receive Plant-of-the-Week by e-mail, go to the Plant-of-the-Week listserv subscription page. To contact us, please use this online form. ©1998-2009 All rights reserved.
