In full sun G. lobatus has leaves 2 to 3 times the size of leaves from G. Macrorhizus. More obviously G. Lobatus has silver/cyan leaves with green veins and a metallic luster, compared to G. Macrorhizus’s simple green.
G. Lobatus is also a bit more tropical in its distribution, but it is still a “drought dodger”, going dormant during the dry season, but growing very fast and consuming substantial amounts of water when it’s awake.
The G. Lobatus is about to flower and I’m hoping it’s female, if it is I can attempt to make hybrids.
by IloveEstir
3 Comments
That’s exciting! Gerrardanthus macrorhizus are some of my favorite caudiciforms of all time, in no small part due to how fast they grow and how tough they seem to be. I haven’t managed to kill one yet anyway. A batch of hybrids would probably have some interesting leaf variation.
Are your pots “pots”, or do you make them yourself from flats of that material? I’ve seen similar designs before and I am intrigued… I’m sure they perform amazingly. Also are you using coco coir in your soil mix? I’ve used it in the past with fantastic results, I’ve been meaning to get it back into my mix.
Also for some reason my Gerrardanthus seeds do not germinate reliably for me. I finally got my hands on a female macrorhizus a couple of years ago, and my old male quickly pollinated it quite a few times. I probably had… 50 seeds? And I think I only got like five or six to actually pop. From what I’ve been told, they should be much more viable than that. I’ll just have to try again this year.
I just got one of each of these amazing plants. Everything I have read has said to keep them out of full sun. But it seems like you keep them in full sun?
I’m pretty new to these since I only have one but the caudex really does not like intense direct sunlight. Mine developed a red color on the side where it is hit by the sun and since I have covered that part with a shade cloth to keep it as it should until the leaves are long enough to shade it