2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Rochea (Latin Rochea) - succulent from the Tolstyankovye family, which received its interesting name in honor of F. de la Roche, a famous French botanist. Sometimes the grove is referred to as fat women, and is not considered as a separate genus.
Description
Rocheya is a spectacular dwarf shrub or a dwarf miniature succulent shrub - the height of this plant rarely exceeds sixty centimeters. The glossy green thick leaves of the rochea are pointed at the edges and are characterized by an oblong-ovoid shape. All of them grow together near the bases and boast an opposite arrangement crosswise.
Roshea also boasts amazingly beautiful and extremely abundant flowering: her delicate five-petal flowers of pinkish-red shades fold into luxurious umbrella-shaped inflorescences and adorn shrubs both in summer and in autumn. On average, the diameter of each flower ranges from three to three and a half centimeters.
Where grows
Rocheya is a visitor from South Africa, that is, the most preferable for her full development is an arid and hot climate.
Usage
Rochea is usually bred as an ornamental indoor plant. This highly decorative beauty is widespread in culture.
Growing and caring
Rocheya is very unpretentious to care for, so it is quite easy to grow it, however, in order to achieve a spectacular flowering from it, you will need to create cold wintering conditions for it (failure to comply with this condition can lead to a complete stop of flowering in the future). It is best to place this beauty on the southern windows, and the weakened heating in the winter season will only benefit her. The ideal winter temperature for a rochea is ten to fifteen degrees.
Since the grove is incredibly photophilous, it is not at all afraid of the direct rays of the sun. And it can be safely planted in any soil mixture, the most important thing is that this soil mixture is rather loose (and subsequently, you also always need to ensure that the soil in the pot continues to remain loose, without crusts) and light enough. It is equally important to provide it with good drainage.
In summer, the grove should be watered abundantly enough (trying in every possible way to prevent water stagnation), but winter watering should be scarce (ideally, the earthen lump should always be practically dry). Roche does not tolerate waterlogging (especially in the cold) - it leads not only to wilting and wilting of leaves, but also to rotting of the stems. And this plant does not feel the need for spraying at all.
With regard to top dressing, the grower is usually fed only if its growth is excessively delayed or in the case of symptoms indicative of nutritional deficiency. It is best to use special fertilizers for succulents and cacti for these purposes. Also, the abundant flowering of a beautiful plant can be facilitated by periodic pinching of shoots - the rochet tolerates them very well. A sure sign that the rochea will bloom profusely is the presence of strong dark green shoots equipped with short internodes.
As soon as the plant fades, its shoots are necessarily shortened and they try to water it as little as possible, of course, without bringing the earthen lump to complete dryness.
Rochea tolerates tightness perfectly, so there is absolutely no need to replant it too often. And it is usually propagated by seed, however, sometimes they also resort to cuttings. In the latter case, stem cuttings are planted either in spring or summer in a well-moistened substrate.
