Cultivation of Living Stones
Main content of this article: Understanding the aspects of the plant Living Stones, their cultivation, detailed content will be shared next.
Living Stones are perennial small succulents. The stems are very short and often not visible. The metamorphosed leaves are fleshy and thick, with two opposite leaves joined to form an inverted cone shape. There are many varieties, each with its own characteristics. 3-4 year-old Living Stones bloom yellow, white, red, pink, purple, and other colored flowers from the gaps between the opposite leaves in autumn, mainly opening in the afternoon, closing at dusk, and blooming again the next noon, with a single flower lasting 7-10 days. When in bloom, the flowers almost cover the entire plant, looking very delicate and beautiful. After the flowers fade, fruits are produced, yielding very tiny seeds. Living Stones resemble colorful stones, rich in color, small and exquisite, and are known as "living stones."
Living Stones enjoy sunlight, with a suitable growth temperature of 20°C to 24°C. In spring and autumn, they should be placed on a south-facing balcony or windowsill for cultivation, as this is their vigorous growth period. It is advisable to water them every 3-5 days to promote growth and blooming.
The growth pattern of Living Stones is to start growing in March to April, pause during the high-temperature season, enter a summer dormancy period, and continue growing and blooming when it cools in autumn. After the flowers fade, they enter the overwintering period. Native to the extremely arid and rainless desert gravel areas of the Cape Province in South Africa, with annual rainfall below 250mm and an average winter temperature of 10°C, and summer temperatures of 20-25°C. During the dry season, they go dormant, the bulbous bodies gradually shrink and are buried in the soil, leaving only the top surface exposed to the ground, resembling gravel. This "mimicry" serves to prevent birds and animals from eating them.
In order to adapt to the environment, they have evolved from dicotyledonous plants into typical succulent ball-leaf plants, relying on the water storage tissue within the cortex to preserve a little moisture. The top surface is called the "window," where chlorophyll performs photosynthesis. The top is slightly flat, with a gap in the middle, from which 3-4 year-old plants bloom yellow, white, or pink flowers in autumn.
Living Stones are mainly affected by leaf spot and leaf rot diseases, which can be controlled by spraying with a 65% wettable powder of zinc omadine at a concentration of 600 times. Pests include ants and root-knot nematodes, with the soil replacement method used to reduce nematode invasion. To prevent ants, a pot-within-a-pot watering method can be used to keep ants from reaching the soft and juicy bulbous leaves.
In pot cultivation of Living Stones, the roots are few and shallow, and colorful pebbles can be placed around them to provide support and enhance the ornamental effect.
The above is the complete content of the cultivation methods for Living Stones, for your comprehensive understanding and reference!