How to Grow and Care for Concrete Leaf Plant (Titanopsis)

You and I are clearly each members of the bizarre is fantastic membership – so hey, good friend!

Positive, concrete leaf vegetation have vivid, showy flowers too, however I doubt anybody is rising titanopsis solely for his or her blooms.

On this article, I’m going to give you some background details about species within the Titanopsis genus in addition to particulars about their rising necessities and propagation steerage.

Right here’s what’s forward:

What Are Concrete Leaf Crops?

Concrete leaf vegetation (Titanopsis) are evergreen succulents which have a mat-like, clumping, progress behavior.

These succulents have a selection of as much as six inches or so at maturity, and include small, compact rosettes that attain two to 4 inches vast and tall.

Additionally recognized by their genus identify, titanopsis, these botanical marvels have spoon- or club-shaped leaves.

The characteristic which supplies these succulent vegetation their concrete-like look is the ends of the leaves that are lined with tough bumps, often known as warts.

The bases of the leaves are smoother than the ends, and generally extra brightly coloured as properly.

The colour of the foliage is extraordinarily diverse relying on species, particular person plant, and lightweight publicity, and ranges from blues, grays, and greens, to muted pinks, purples, reds, browns, and yellows.

The daisy-like blooms of titanopsis are comparatively massive in comparison with the scale of the vegetation, and are usually yellow, orange, or pink in shade, and held on very brief flower stems.

For those who assume your succulent is a titanopsis, however aren’t fairly certain, let’s take into account a couple of vegetation more likely to be confused with species on this genus.

In nurseries, concrete leaf vegetation are generally labeled as lithops.

Though they’re associated and have comparable care wants – they’re completely different succulents and don’t also have a comparable look!

You’ll be able to learn extra in regards to the several types of lithops in our information if you wish to be taught extra about these residing stones.

There are some lookalikes, nevertheless.

Some members of the Aloinopsis genus have a really comparable progress behavior and still have bumps on their leaves, making them straightforward to mistake for the topic of our article.

There’s additionally Crassula ausensis subsp. titanopsis, a crassula subspecies that appears considerably like concrete leaf plant and was named after it.

Cultivation and Historical past

Titanopsis succulents are native to Namibia and South Africa, the place they develop in arid areas and are tailored to low, seasonal rainfall, although some species additionally obtain moisture through coastal fog.

The tough textured foliage mimics the limestone rocks and gravel of their native environments, making them virtually unnoticeable to people and herbivores till they’re in bloom.

Titanopsis are members of the Aizoaceae or fig marigold household, also referred to as the ice plant household.

Different members of this household embody succulents akin to infants’ toes (Fenestraria rhopalophylla), ice plant (Corpuscularia lehmannii), cut up rock (Pleiospilos nelii)– and sure, lithops, too!

The truth is, like lithops, titanopsis are thought of mesembs, a typical identify used to seek advice from succulent vegetation from the fig marigold household that appear to be stones.

Along with mesembs, they’re additionally referred to as mimicry vegetation or residing stones.

There are solely 4 species within the Titanopsis genus, with a few of former species having been reclassified as belonging to the intently associated Aloinopsis genus talked about earlier.

The genus identify Titanopsis comes from the Greek and means not powerful as a Greek god as I might have most popular, however a extra mundane chalky look, referring to the limestone rocks amongst which these residing stones happen in nature.

Concrete leaf vegetation make nice houseplants when located on sunny windowsills or beneath develop lights. They can be stored open air yr spherical in USDA Hardiness Zones 8b to 11b.

Titanopsis Propagation

For those who’d prefer to strive propagating concrete leaf vegetation, you may select to start out them from seed or divide offsets from an current specimen.

From Seed

To propagate titanopsis from seed, there are a selection of provides you’ll want to assemble!

You’ll want seeds, rising medium, coarse sand, horticultural sand, humidity domes, fungicide, a twig bottle, and both seed beginning trays or three-and-a-half- to four-inch nursery pots. You might also want a warmth mat.

The variety of pots or trays you’ll want will depend upon the variety of seeds you’ve gotten – you may sow 20 to 30 seeds per three-and-a-half-inch pot.

For rising medium, neither a business seed beginning combine nor prebagged cactus and succulent soil are appropriate for this objective.

As an alternative, create your individual combine that’s 70 p.c grit, akin to coarse sand, pumice, or horticultural gravel, and 30 p.c natural matter, akin to coconut coir.

Begin by combining the components to your rising medium within the really helpful parts.

Whenever you’ve carried out this, have all of the wanted provides, and are prepared to start out, fill the tray or nursery pots with moistened rising medium, leaving one inch of room between the floor of the medium and the rim of the pot or tray.

Sprinkle a shallow layer of coarse sand on the floor of the rising medium.

Titanopsis seeds are extraordinarily tiny, like particles of mud, so it helps to combine them in a teaspoon or so of sand earlier than sprinkling them on the floor of the coarse sand layer. Don’t cowl the seed and sand combination.

Use the spray bottle to moisten the sand and seed layer and apply the biofungicide as indicated within the producer’s directions, if utilizing.

For those who’re utilizing a special kind of fungicide, apply in keeping with the producer’s directions.

Place the nursery pots or tray right into a location with vivid, oblique gentle, and maintain it heat through the day – round 77°F – and about 10 levels cooler at evening. Use a warmth mat if wanted.

Preserve the rising medium moist and anticipate seeds to germinate inside a month. The primary seedlings might pop up inside a couple of days to every week!

After a month or so, regularly begin to acclimate the seedlings to much less protected circumstances, lowering warmth, and growing air flow earlier than eradicating the humidity domes fully.

Enable seedlings to stay in the identical pots or trays for a couple of yr earlier than transplanting into bigger or particular person pots.

Be taught extra about propagating succulents from seed in our information.

From Offsets

Concrete leaf vegetation produce offsets, and these might be separated from the mom plant to propagate new specimens.

To propagate titanopsis on this approach, when the plant’s rising medium is dry, take away it from the pot and use a clear pair of scissors or backyard snips to take away an offset.

Enable each the mom plant and the offset to callus over for a couple of week earlier than returning the mom from its pot or potting up the offset as a transplant.

After repotting, wait every week earlier than watering.

Be taught extra about the best way to propagate succulent offsets in our information.

From Transplants

You’ll be taught extra about one of the best timing for repotting a mature titanopsis within the upkeep part under, however for now let’s cowl the steps wanted to transplant a specimen that you simply’ve simply introduced dwelling or propagated your self from seed or through offsets.

You’ll want a brand new pot for the concrete leaf plant, in addition to some rising medium.

There are several types of rising medium that can work for these succulents, so long as they’re very gritty, with roughly 85 p.c mineral content material.

For those who’re utilizing a business succulent and cactus combine, add extra grit to make sure the rising medium has glorious drainage, and keep away from mixes that include peat, which causes compacting.

And in any case, peat comes from moist, boggy areas, so it doesn’t make a lot sense to make use of it to domesticate succulents that favor arid circumstances – to not point out the significance of protecting it within the floor as a carbon sink!

For those who’re potting up a seedling with a small root system or an offset, begin with a pot that’s about two inches vast or a bit wider.

When you’ve gotten mixed the components to create the rising medium and have a brand new pot, you’re able to transplant!

Gently take away the titanopsis from its current pot taking care to not harm the foliage or root system.

If the titanopsis is rising in a special kind of potting combine, take away as a lot of it as potential from across the roots.

If it’s very rootbound, chances are you’ll have to moist the roots to take away the previous potting combine.

After wetting the roots, and eradicating as a lot of the potting medium as potential, permit them to dry once more earlier than you proceed.

Are you transplanting an offset or a year-old seedling with a small root system?

Fill the pot a lot of the approach, use a spoon to poke a gap within the center, then insert the succulent’s roots and agency the potting medium across the titanopsis.

Or does the specimen have a well-developed root ball?

If that’s the case, add only a shallow layer of rising medium, then maintain the concrete leaf plant within the pot with one hand whereas filling in with medium with the opposite hand.

Don’t water a newly transplanted titanopsis immediately, however wait every week to present it time to regulate to its new quarters.

The best way to Develop Titanopsis

For a lot of the yr, concrete leaf vegetation require full solar – that’s to say, six to eight hours of direct daylight.

For those who’re utilizing a gentle meter, that’s at the least six to eight hours of sunshine at 1000 foot candles.

Enough gentle helps to develop the “warts” that give concrete leaf vegetation their bumpy look.

In summer season nevertheless, when temperatures are hottest, these succulents favor some gentle shade through the hottest a part of the day.

Indoors, select a sunny, south-facing window. For those who don’t have an appropriate window, you’ll doubtless want to make use of a develop gentle to maintain the succulent wholesome.

Be taught extra about utilizing develop lights right here.

When succulents don’t obtain sufficient gentle they might turn out to be etiolated, the place the leaves and stems turn out to be elongated as they attain in direction of the sunshine.

Alternatively, in case your succulent has developed brownish patches on the foliage, it could be uncovered to extra direct solar than it might probably deal with.

Remember to regularly improve the depth of the sunshine publicity for not too long ago acquired specimens, and to supply some gentle shade through the hottest a part of the day throughout summer season.

As for water, needless to say Titanopsis species have a dormancy interval both in winter or summer season, and are tailored to receiving much less water throughout these intervals as soon as they’ve reached maturity.

You’ll be taught extra about which species are dormant throughout which seasons later within the article, so maintain studying!

For those who aren’t certain which species you’ve gotten, it’s not a disaster! Fortunately all 4 species favor to obtain most of their water in spring and autumn.

Through the dormancy interval, or throughout each summer season and winter in the event you don’t know which species you’ve gotten, relatively than watering as quickly as the rising medium is dry, stretch out the interval between waterings out a bit – beginning with a couple of days.

When you’ve got a younger specimen, it is not going to cope as properly with out water through the summer season season, so proceed so as to add moisture when the rising medium is dry.

When it’s time to water, take away the succulent from its standard spot, place it in a bowl, and use a houseplant watering can with a slender spout in an effort to purpose a managed stream of water onto the floor of the rising medium, and keep away from drenching the foliage.

Dump the drained water from the bowl and permit the liquid to proceed draining from the holes within the backside of the pot.

Repeat the method, permitting the rising medium to empty properly earlier than you come the succulent to its standard location.

Wish to be taught extra in regards to the greatest kind of water for succulents? Try our article!

Selecting a well-draining rising medium is simply as vital as taking care to not water too steadily.

As talked about above, within the transplanting part above, the medium must be very gritty, with roughly 85 p.c mineral content material, and may have a ph vary between 6.6 to eight.4.

As species that exhibit energetic progress primarily in spring and autumn, titanopsis are happiest in temperatures between 65 to 75°F.

These mesembs additionally do greatest when temperatures drop 10 to fifteen levels decrease than the daytime temperature at evening.

All Titanopsis species are hardy to 14°F for brief intervals, although this hardiness additionally relies on the mesemb’s roots not being moist.

Along with temperature issues, air circulation can be vital, so don’t crowd these succulents collectively too tightly with different houseplants, particularly if humidity ranges are above 40 p.c.

Rising Ideas

• Expose vegetation to 6 to eight hours of full solar, with gentle shade throughout summer season warmth.
• Water when the rising medium is dry in spring and autumn, with much less frequent watering in winter and summer season.
• Ensure that each the potting medium and container have glorious drainage.

Upkeep

The primary upkeep job chances are you’ll take into account endeavor if you first convey a titanopsis house is repotting.

Nurseries usually develop succulents akin to these in rising mediums that include a whole lot of peat, which promotes quick progress when seedlings are younger.

However as talked about, a potting medium that accommodates peat is a poor choice for titanopsis over the long run.

So chances are you’ll have to repot this mesemb quickly after bringing it dwelling.

Nevertheless, if the titanopsis was shipped, so long as the pot has drainage holes, wait a month to let it get acclimated to life in your house first.

If it doesn’t have drainage holes, go forward and repot immediately!

Along with altering out the rising medium if it’s the unsuitable kind, you also needs to take into account repotting in case your concrete leaf plant is root sure, has turn out to be prime heavy in its present pot, or if it’s been two or three years because you final repotted.

Unsure how lengthy it’s been because you final repotted? Begin monitoring this data in your gardening journal.

If the foundation system isn’t but filling up the pot, you may change out the rising medium and repot it into the identical container, or a pot of the identical dimension.

For a concrete leaf plant that has outgrown its container, select a brand new pot that is only one dimension bigger than the present one, and – in fact! – ensure that it has drainage holes.

Concrete leaf vegetation have deep faucet roots, so shallow pots aren’t the only option for these succulent vegetation. As an alternative choose a pot that’s deeper than it’s vast.

Are you questioning if there’s a greatest time of yr to repot titanopsis?

Useless foliage and spent blooms can present a foothold for pests and ailments.

It’s a good suggestion to verify for this particles everytime you water, take away it utilizing a pair of sterilized snips if vital, and deposit it in your compost bin.

Titanopsis Species to Choose

Able to be taught extra in regards to the completely different Titanopsis species?

Calcarea

The most important species of the genus, T. calcarea has rosettes that attain 4 inches vast and tall.

The flat leaves of this concrete leaf plant are flat, spoon- to triangular-shaped, and are lined with a mixture of small and enormous bumps.

The leaves are usually blueish inexperienced or grey and the warts have a blue, brown, grey, or pink tinge.

A recipient of the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Backyard Benefit in 2002, T. calcarea has orange to yellow blooms that seem in fall and winter.

T. primosii produces flowers which can be often pale yellow with tan ideas, however they might even be orange or pink.

This species grows actively throughout winter and is dormant through the summer season months.

Schwantesii

With two-inch vast rosettes, the leaves of T. schwantesii are extra upright than these of the opposite species and might be pale inexperienced, grey, blue, brown, or pink.

The thick, club-shaped leaves of this titanopsis are lined with massive warts that are grey, grayish brown, tan, white, yellow, or yellowish brown in shade.

With yellow flowers, T. schwantesii is dormant in summer season, rising actively from fall by spring.

In its pure atmosphere this titanopsis receives a part of its water from fog, making it extra adaptable to elevated humidity ranges.

Managing Pests and Illness

Whereas titanopsis are recognized for being deer-resistant, in the event you place these succulents open air chances are you’ll discover them visited by your native rabbit populations.

Think about inserting potted specimens out of the attain of rabbits, or enclose the world with a fine-meshed rabbit fence to maintain these nibblers out.

Be taught extra about defending vegetation from rabbits in our information.

Titanopsis have a tendency to withstand most insect onslaughts, however you’ll want to verify your vegetation usually, particularly for succulent mites, scale bugs, and mealybugs.

Whereas most mealybugs are fairly exhausting to overlook when you recognize what they appear to be, there’s a sort that’s more durable to detect. Root mealies, as they’re generally referred to as, reside within the soil or rising medium, feeding on the succulent’s roots.

That is one cause why you need to at all times take away the plant from its pot and take a look on the root ball – earlier than you buy it or as quickly as a web-based buy arrives.

Root mealies appear to be grains of rice hooked up to the foundation ball. You’ll be able to deal with them with neem oil, reapplying as soon as every week for about two months till they’re eradicated.

Be taught extra about the best way to cope with mealybugs in our information.

As for illness, the issue you’re almost definitely to come across with this succulent is rot.

If the concrete leaf plant has tender foliage or mushy roots, the plant is probably going rotting on account of a mixture of an excessive amount of water, not sufficient gentle, and inadequate drainage.

If rot is affecting your titanopsis, you’ll want to overview the rising ideas on this article to be taught what might have gone unsuitable.

And for additional steerage about the best way to cope with rotting succulents, learn our information!

Greatest Makes use of for Titanopsis

Titanopsis are distinctive specimen vegetation, whether or not grown indoors in a pot or open air in Zones 8b to 11b.

They can be used to create engaging succulent planters however as a result of they’ve distinctive water and rising medium necessities, as an alternative of echeverias or hens and chicks, look to different mesembs akin to Aloinopsis to fill the position of companion vegetation.

Concrete leaf vegetation are thought of unhazardous, in order that they make secure plant selections for households with pets or small youngsters.

And what a enjoyable approach to train youngsters about biodiversity! As for the pets – you may strive, however I can’t promise they’ll pay attention.