Fertilizing
There’s no have to fertilize in-ground vegetation until they’re rising slowly then you’ll be able to feed as soon as in spring and as soon as in late summer time with a cactus and succulent fertilizer.
Container-grown specimens profit from an software of fertilizer in spring and late summer time.
Species and Cultivars
I can’t even start to cowl all the unbelievable hybrids, cultivars, and species which can be out there.
I extremely advocate heading to your native nursery and see if they’ve any. In the event that they do, it’ll probably embrace the primary plant on our checklist:
Arizona
Some of the standard hybrids is the 18-inch-wide ‘Arizona,’ with its darkish blue-green leaves dotted with white spikes on the margins.
It’s usually the one which shops will carry, and is the mum or dad of so many different incredible hybrids, together with ‘Feather Star’ and ‘White Fang.’
‘Arizona’ was bred by Invoice Baker, who was an avid plant hunter and nurseryman. He created quite a few hybrids, a few of that are the preferred and revered on the market.
Dawsonii
The bronze leaves of D. dawsonii are lined with hooked spines on vegetation that may develop as much as a foot broad, producing yellow-orange flowers.
With slightly additional solar, the leaves may even flip darkish purple. The species is pretty uncommon in cultivation, however there are a number of cultivars and hybrids.
‘Brittle Star’ is a Invoice Baker hybrid that’s wildly standard and takes after its dawsonii mum or dad with darkish purple, almost black leaves. It additionally has D. fosteriana and D. platyphylla parentage.
Delicata
My heartfelt thanks goes out to the botanists who discovered D. delicata species within the excessive altitudes of southern Brazil in 1996. That is such a cool species.
The foliage kinds a compact rosette, with leaves that curl downward right into a spiky little orb. The guidelines of the leaves may even dig into the soil or cling under the rim of a container.
Foliage will be inexperienced, crimson, or grey, all lined in silver flocking. There’s additionally a hanging gold type with yellow-gold foliage.
The lengthy, pointed spines would possibly look intimidating, however they’re surprisingly tender to the contact. Go forward, that is one dyckia you’ll be able to safely pet.
Fosteriana
This species has slim, silvery-white leaves accented by heaps and heaps of spines alongside the sides. The leaves are exceptionally curvy and may drape under the rim for those who develop it in a pot.
The vegetation keep small, rising to only about eight inches tall and a bit wider when mature. One other examine within the “good for container cultivation” column.
They’re fast to mature and ship out offsets, so that you’ll be having fun with clusters of those vegetation very quickly.
Search for varieties like nivosa, which matures at nearly 5 inches throughout, or the rubra type, which turns a deep burgundy in vibrant mild.
Goehringii
For those who like your vegetation to be vicious, this species is for you. The margins of the leaves are lined with spines, and people spines are hooked on the ends.
Need to maintain youngsters, pets, or pests out of the backyard? Just like the look of what one bromeliad discussion board consumer known as “a bouquet stuffed with razor wire?” Goehringii it’s.
This species can be an excellent possibility if you wish to propagate the pups.
They emerge on brief stolons that maintain the offsets away from the bottom of the mom plant, slightly than clustered tightly round it.
Pineapple
Pineapple dyckia (D. brevifolia) definitely bears a resemblance to the plant from which it derives its widespread identify. It has the identical sort of inexperienced, strappy leaves that give it a well-recognized look.
One notable hybrid is ‘Bare Girl,’ a cross between D. brevifolia and D. encholirioides. It options pale inexperienced to yellow foliage and grows as much as a foot tall and even wider.
Because it lacks spines, this one is an effective possibility for rising as a houseplant or for putting in high-traffic areas.
White
The botanical identify D. marnier-lapostollei could also be a mouthful, however the plant itself is undeniably beautiful.
It has small, claw-like spines alongside the margins of gray-green leaves that seem almost white because of a heavy coating of trichomes.
The leaves are deeply curved, usually curling again beneath themselves or dipping under the rim of a container. They’re lined with spines which can be comparatively tender.
At maturity, the plant reaches a few foot tall and broad and produces flower spikes as much as two ft tall topped with orange blooms. It grows properly even in partial shade.
The species was named after Julien Marnier-Lapostolle of Grand Marnier liqueur fame, because the plant was found rising on one among his estates.
Broad Leaf
Often known as wide-leaf dyckia, D. platyphylla has broader leaves than many different species, although every nonetheless tapers to a degree.
The foliage is roofed in stubby however sharp spines and dotted with silvery scales. In vibrant solar, the leaves can tackle a bronze, crimson, or purple hue.
At maturity, vegetation attain a few foot tall and as much as two ft broad, sending up tall stalks of yellow flowers.
To be completely correct, it’s not fully clear whether or not this plant is a real species or a hybrid. It was first described in 1970 by botanist and bromeliad knowledgeable Lyman Bradford Smith, primarily based on a specimen collected by Bateman Foster.
But it surely has by no means been rediscovered within the wild, and a few consultants suspect it could be a hybrid.
The hybrid ‘Cherry Coke’ inherits its shiny leaves from D. platyphylla, whereas D. fosteriana contributes its tendency to shift shade within the solar.
