Adromischus 'Red'

This unusual and rare succulent appears extraterrestrial with its texture surface and curious form. Be careful not to kill it with kindness, it needs plenty of neglect and perfect drainage.

The lumpy, bumpy leaves grow to around 5cm and will colour red with high light and a little water stress. The leaves will grow to form clusters.

Why not try something a little different? Adromischus is just as easy as regular succulents, with a bit of extra flair.

Adromischus make great house and patio plants. They are easy care, so a great choice for beginners.

The narrow flower stems grow summer to autumn with long, green tubular flowers with pink, recurved petal tips. They can grow up to 30cm tall and have small, red and cream tubular blooms.

HOW TO:

Adromischus is a rare and beautiful member of the Crassulaceae family. They are easy to grow and thrive in pots (with adequate drainage holes) or sharply drained soils. In pots use a cactus/succulent potting mix.

Grow in part shade or shelter from the hot afternoon sun. Indoors they are terrific in a brightly lit spot will give you the best colour – in too low a light they lose their silver sheen. Water in, then water again only as the soil dries out, or the leaves begin to shrink – too much water may cause them to rot, to help prevent this you can add a sprinkling of gravel to the top of the soil.

They start their growth late winter/early spring and go into dormancy over winter, you can stop watering late autumn. They are sensitive to frost, so best grown in pots in cool climes. Add a diluted fertiliser that is low in nitrogen in spring/summer just once – they don’t need a lot. They like good air flow around them so are best not crowded in.

Repot in spring every few years to refresh their growing media. Remove mealy bugs/aphids with tweezers as required. Propagate from leaf cuttings.