Echeveria gibbiflora is a herbaceous succulent plant, belonging to the Crassulaceae family and is native to Mexico. In this article I tell you all about this plant.
Succulents are really beautiful plants and easy to care for, they also have a wide variety of genera, so I assure you that you will find a plant that suits your tastes and needs.
These plants have the ability to store water in their organs, making them resistant to drought and with the characteristic of reducing their metabolism in the middle of a drought, to reduce their water consumption.
Another of its characteristics is that they are easy to reproduce, with a plant leaf (cuttings), you can reproduce your plant.
Also, some plants reproduce alone, meaning they are producing children.
They are large plants compared to the rest of the Echeveria, they can exceed half a meter in height.
Its leaves are oval, reddish and / or bluish and can measure about 25 cm in length.
Echeveria gibbiflora flower from late summer to early winter with flower panicles, and are red with a yellow interior.
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Echeveria gibbiflora care:
Substratum
The Echeveria gibbiflora can be both in a pot or sown directly in the garden, so the soil will be different in each case.
Pot: universal growing medium mixed with perlite in equal parts.
Here are some substrate ideas for your pots:
Idea # 1
A part of perlite
A part of local land or universal substrate
A part of river sand
Idea # 2
A part of pine bark
A part of coarse sand
A part of pumice stone.
Idea # 3
A part of peat
A part of universal substrate
Two parts of coarse sand or river sand
Garden: it must have very good drainage. If the soil you have in the garden is very compact, don’t worry.
Since it is a fairly small plant, you can make a hole large enough to fit a square block of which there are holes inside, insert it into that hole, and fill the hole with universal growing medium mixed with perlite in equal parts.
Idea # 1:
A part of garden land.
A part of coconut fiber.
A part of perlite.
Idea # 2
Two parts of garden land
A part of gravel
A part of vermiculite
Idea # 3
Watering
Succulents are very susceptible to overwatering, and obviously Echeveria gibbiflora is no exception.
So you must be very careful when watering.
You should water your plant only when the substrate is completely dry.
To make sure of that, you only have to insert an orange stick, if the stick comes out clean it is because it is dry. At that time you can water your plant.
In times of summer the irrigations can be once or twice a week (no more).
And in winter with one or two irrigations a month is more than enough.
How much water does you succulent needs?
If you have the plant in a pot, water the substrate until the water runs out of the drain hole.
Do not spray the leaves as some recommend, this will cause the leaves to over hydrate and rot.
As mentioned previously, it is important to verify the substrate before watering the plant.
Sometimes the upper part of the substrate can give the appearance of being dry, but if we bury our finger or an orange stick, you will notice that the substrate is still wet.
And if we water the plant with the damp substrate, we could cause the roots of the plant to rot or the leaves to hydrate excessively. Also, excess moisture causes the plant to fill with fungi.
When succulent plants are getting too much water, their leaves start to look like wrinkled fingers that have been in the pool too long.
If saturation continues, its leaves often turn brown as they completely rot and begin to fall off.
When succulents are not getting enough water, their leaves often dry out and develop brown spots.
Its leaves will look and feel much more brittle and dry than normal as the plants begin to wilt.
Fertilizer
Although it is not 100% necessary, you can add a good fertilizer. You should add it from the beginning of spring to the end of summer.
You can use a specific fertilizer for cacti and succulents following the instructions specified on the product package.
Try to buy a fertilizer that does not have as much concentration of chemical ingredients.
You can also use natural fertilizers that you can prepare yourself at home.
Natural fertilizers for your succulents:
Banana peel extract: Banana, as it is popularly known, is rich in potassium.
To make this nutrient available to your plants, I boiled one or two banana peels with one tablespoon of sugar in one liter of water.
Water your plants with that water no more than once a week.
Alfalfa flour: provides nitrogen and phosphorus. You can buy alfalfa balls used to feed rabbits or other animals.
Mix the balls (about a handful) with the soil when you transplant your plants and they will release the nutrient content over time, their effect lasting for about a month.
Wood ash: Wood ash is rich in potassium and phosphorus. Soak the ashes for a few minutes. Water with that water no more than once a week.
In addition ash helps prevent pests. The resulting water has an alkalizing effect (increases the pH) of the soil, so if the soil you are fertilizing has a pH greater than 6.5, it is recommended to avoid its use.
Propagation
Echeveria gibbiflora multiplies by seeds and leaf cuttings in spring and summer.
Let’s see how to proceed in each case:
Seeds:
Fill a pot about 10.5 cm in diameter with universal growing medium mixed with perlite in equal parts.
Consciously water, soaking all the soil well.
Lay the seeds on the surface, making sure they are slightly apart from each other.
Cover them with a thin layer of substrate and spray with water.
Place the pot in semi-shade.
Therefore, they will germinate in 2 or 3 weeks.
Leaf cuttings:
It is very easy to get a new copy of a sheet. To do this, you need to take some sheets that are neither old nor new (which are from the middle rows).
You should allow the cuttings wound to dry for a couple of days and then place them in a pot with a universal culture substrate mixed with 50% perlite.
If you wish, you can cover the area where the roots will come out, which is the one that was attached to the mother plant, with a little substrate.
In a matter of 1 to 2 weeks they will issue their roots and new leaves.
Lighting and temperature:
The Echeveria gibbiflora can be in full sun.
If you plant your Echeveria gibbiflora outdoors, without any problem you can have it in direct sun.
You should be careful with frost, since this plant does not resist very low temperatures.
If you want it as a houseplant, you should locate it in a place where it receives a good amount of sun per day.
Succulents are plants that enjoy warmer climates more. The ideal growing temperature is between 50ºF and 70ºF.
It is not a frost resistant plant and it is advisable to keep it out of cold winds during the coldest months of the year.
Tips for caring for succulents in winter:
Fertilize the plant for the last time in late summer. Succulents will only need fertilizer while actively growing.
Once they stop growing, they must stop composting for the rest of the year and remain dormant, which happens when the temperature and light drop.
Too much compost causes succulents to develop weak leaves, making them prone to rot. Especially if these fertilizers have a high nitrogen content.
Locate your succulents in an area where it receives 3 to 4 hours of light per day.
Keep the temperature between 10ºC and 13ºC (50ºF to 55ºF) in winter.
Many succulents, such as Echeveria, do not tolerate lower temperatures.
Water the substrate of the plant until the water comes out of the bottom to drain. During winter they should be watered more deeply, but less frequently.
Succulents don’t need as much water as when they are actively growing.
Water every month or every other month.
Check the leaves whenever you can, so they are not harassed by aphids or scaly insects, they look like little cotton balls. Check well under the sheets.
If the succulent is infected, apart from the other plants. Spray a mixture of 3 parts alcohol and 1 part water with a spray bottle on the succulent to kill pests.
Repeat the procedure until the pests have been completely exterminated.
Keep infected succulents isolated for a couple of weeks, preventing insects from surviving the first spray.
Let the substrate dry completely, as mentioned above, in winter it is not necessary to water the succulents constantly, so it is important that between watering and watering leave the substrate completely dry for several days.
Plagues and diseases
It is frequently attacked by mealybugs that lodge between pairs of leaves.
The symptoms of the presence of mealybugs are, bumps, hardening, waxy secretions attached to the leaf or stem and that are seen both in more woody areas and green areas of the plant.
This pest is relatively easy to control. The plant can be sprayed with pressurized water, thus eliminating mealybugs.
You can also prepare a cotton swab soaked in isopropyl alcohol and run it over areas infected with the pest and then rinse with water.
As a third homemade solution, dilute dishwasher soap in a liter of water and spray. Then remove excess dishwasher, thoroughly rinsing the plant.
The most natural solution, if you have the time, is to provide ladybugs, which are predators of mealybugs.
Additionally, mollusks can attack the tender ends of growing stems.
Snails and slugs attack primarily the youngest plant structures and also the fleshy regions.
One way to eradicate this pest, a container of beer is buried in the pot.
The scent of beer attracts the snails and they drown, is good way to eliminate them.
If your plant pots are located in a place where it can’t get wet with rainwater, you can pour some fine sand around it.
The fine dust of the sand avoids the mobility of the snail.
Pruning
Generally this plant does not need to be pruned. Only if parts of the plant are abused or diseased.