P:Last year in May, I brought mesembs vaccinations from Turkey. After transplanting them into pots with garden soil, they took root and began to grow nicely, but they did not bloom until autumn. How to cultivate in our conditions.
O:Plants from a huge family of mesembs, numbering about 123 genera and over 1800 species. They can only be distinguished by the structure of leaves, stems or fruits, as their flowers are very similar.The leaves of the mesembs are small and fleshy because the plants store water in them.
The flowers - relatively large - are white to purple in color, close at night and open at noon, hence their name. Under favorable conditions the plants bloom profusely all year round, but they must undergo a period of dormancy from time to time, which is usually the case in droughts.
The fruits are dry bags, from which the seeds fall out only when it rains, or fleshy berries.Propagation from seeds in our conditions is difficult, because seedlings usually die when infected by fungi.
Growing mesembs
Mornings can be grown on sunny balconies or terraces from May to October. They just need to be provided with as much sun as possible, a dry, light base in a flat large container.Species with small leaves should not be fertilized, the remaining ones should be fertilized with fertilizers for succulents every 2-3 weeks from May to September.
Replant the fresh substrate once every two years.Water the plants sparingly and only when the soil in the pot is completely dry (when it is damp or cool outside, we do not do it at all).
In order for the mesembs to bloom throughout the summer, we need to dry them periodically. If they are watered abundantly, they will not bloom, so they should be protected from rain.Plants grow very quickly, creating long but slightly branched shoots.To avoid drying out of old leaves, the longest shoots should be shortened. The pruned plants branch more strongly and bloom more abundantly.
The beauty of contrasting discount
In September or October, cut the shoots to 1/3 of their length and move the entire container to a bright and cool (approx. 15 ° C) room, water the plants once every 1-2 months, so that the soil is almost dry.We provide a lot of light in the mornings from March.In spring you can prepare shoots.
