Sarcocaulon Vanderietae

Light	Water summer	Water winter	Hibernation	Soil	Propagation
max	-	Medium	summer	gravel	South Africa

 

Family: Geraniaceae: Geraniaceae

Sarcocaulon Vanderietiae is one of the most beautiful Geraniaceae - both as a small succulent and as an adult bonsai-like shrub. Leaves and stems are similar to S.Crassicaule but on a smaller scale.

Let's face it - it's not the easiest houseplant to keep in Denmark. It is extremely sensitive to overwatering and lack of light. If the plant is not given a sufficiently water-conducting growth medium such as gravel, it rots relatively easily.

The plant originates from the South African Karoo - a semi-desert where it rains about 1/3-1/4 as much as Denmark - but with much greater fluctuations. The plant does not need to be watered at all in summer, when it is dormant. In winter, it will therefore get a lot of water in the wild, but if it is also a little darker than what it is used to, it must also be watered sparingly, and then there is not much water left.

It should be mentioned that many people recommend not to put S.Vanderietiae into dormancy as a houseplant, and the plant can tolerate being in growth all year round, with watering continuing throughout the summer.

Give the plant as much light as possible. It seems to do well with bright grow light. Its root system is relatively thin, so there is no need to give it a deep pot. It looks like Sarcocaulon Vanderietiae has the ability to close the leaves, presumably if it gets too strong Light.

It is said that all Sarcocaulon need air flow. The plant is prone to attack by spider mites, but apparently not whiteflies, scale insects or mealy bugs. 

Sarcocaulon Vanderietiae produces medium-sized white flowers. It should be fertilized about once a month during the growing season - autumn to spring.

It is relatively easy to get seeds from S.Vanderietiae to germinate. The young plants grow vertically, but over time they lie down and grow almost horizontally as an older plant. We have seen examples of the plant letting the branches at the top die in order to plant new ones further down the plant.

 

 

Caudiciform.com offers the following Sarcocaulon Vanderietiae for sale: