Pachypodium Lamerei

 General information about Pachypodium

There are a number of rules to follow when growing Pachypodium regardless of species.

Use small Pots. If you use large Pots , the plant will often have too large a root system, and the plant will use more energy to grow the branches, and you will not get the compact shape that they get in the habitat, which is most attractive. Small Pots means a pot that is not much wider than the caudex and not much higher than the caudex.

Use a pure mineral growing medium such as pumice, possibly mixed with some perlite. Both minerals retain a little water, but allow larger amounts of water to pass through a pot and out again. In nature, most Pachypodiums grow directly on granite, quartz, limestone and sandstone.

Fertilize with every watering. Use a low concentration of fertilizer and remember that the fertilizer in all the water that comes out of the pot during watering is not absorbed by the plant.

Always keep the plant slightly moist - also in winter. It may sound a bit counterintuitive to keep plants dry in winter to avoid rot, but remember that you can also water a very small amount at the edge of the pot, away from the plant. Pachypodium needs a lot of water in summer, preferably every other day. Brevicaule in particular reacts very strongly to drying out.

Pachypodium is in dormancy from December to February (approximately), flowers from April to June, and grows from June to November.

Most Pachypodium need minimum 4hours of direct Light during the flowering and growing period from February to November. Only 

Pachypodium should be kept above 10°Celsius in winter - Bispinosum and Succulentum can however tolerate down to 0 degrees. Despite this recommendation, some of the Madagascar Pachypodium grow in places where it gets down to 5°C in winter, and at altitudes where it is likely to get even colder.

De fleste Pachypodium (men ikke alle) vokser i naturen i jord med en lav surhedsgrad omkring pH 4-5. Kalk. Kalk i vandet hæver ph værdien, så det kan anbefales at demineralisere vandet (koge det) før vanding, eller bruge regnvand. Nogle Pachypodium - særligt Brevicaule skulle være følsomme overfor bakterier, det kan måske forklares med den lave ph værdi i deres habitats jord, da bakterier ikke klarer sig så godt i sure miljøer.