Cacti and succulents are considered a predictable group of houseplants. Their appearance is familiar to everyone, even if we are talking about the original blooming beauties. But one plant from this series can surprise even the most experienced flower growers. Previously, it was known as decabelone – an amazing flowering succulent with a unique color and flower shape similar to an exotic vision: it is not easy to understand that this is not a cactus. The shapes of both stems and flowers of tavaresia-decabelone are truly unforgettable.
Таварезия (Tavaresia). Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com Skolnik Collection
Tavaresia-decabelone and their flower-tubes
The most amazing of the representatives of succulents, Decabelone, is non-standard in everything. The plant, which came to us from the deserts of Africa, wins the hearts of flower growers all over the world with its outlandish color, unusual shape of both flowers and stems. This exotic belongs to the family Кутровых (Apocynaceae).
The most valuable feature of Decabelone is rightly called the “animal” color of huge flowers. Specks and specks of this type do seem to be more characteristic of fauna than flora. But you shouldn’t underestimate the beauty of this succulent’s stems either. Multi-ribbed, with very neat teeth and short spines, they look elegant, patterned and festive, captivating with the contrast of white bristles and a basic, atypically rich green color. Dekabelone is constantly growing, releasing more and more new shoots and forming bizarre silhouettes of a group consisting of dozens of stems and reaching more than 20 cm in girth.
The small diameter of the stem – only up to 2 cm at a height of more than 10 cm – does not prevent the shoots from looking very harmonious. But the huge stems, so outwardly reminiscent of cacti, seem to be rather modest in size compared to twice as large bizarre, almost lying flowers. Huge wide funnel tubes end in wide open triangular petals that form a star-shaped limb. In shape, the decabelone flowers resemble either the body of a squid, or the outlandish representatives of underwater vegetation. The stunning exotic shape is even more conspicuous thanks to maroon and red specks and specks, creating variegated ripples against the light yellow background both outside and inside the flower. Usually Decabelone-Tavaresia bloom in June and July.
Today, almost all types decabelone (Decabelone) with one exception, they were retrained into the genus tavaresia or taveresium (Tavaresia), but these plants are still more often distributed under the old name, and their names can be considered full synonyms. Decabelone or tavaresia are special plants. It is very difficult to confuse them with other succulents.
There are many original species in the genus of this representative of the Kutrov family. But in room culture, only three of them are particularly popular.
Tavaresia Barkley (Tavaresia barklyi, formerly known as decabelone grandiflorum — Decabelone grandiflora) Is a very showy plant with large stems and even larger flowers. Shoots up to 20 cm in height with a diameter of only a few centimeters conquer with the beauty of 10-14 faces covered with warts-teeth, on which white bristle-like spines are not immediately visible. The flowers are tubular, funnel-shaped, in proportion to the stems. With a length of 14 cm in width, they will not exceed 5 cm. The petals of the corolla are triangular. The color cannot be called anything other than outlandish: the original red-brown speck appears on a light yellow, pale background.
Dekabelone refined (Decabelone elegans) Is a species whose status is still uncertain, but still related to the genus Decabelone. This is a plant with slightly smaller and less faceted shoots (up to 8 faces at a height of 15 cm) and much smaller, eight-centimeter flowers. On closer inspection, one can notice grayish spikes on the teeth of the edges, and a brighter base yellow color, and lightening of the specks closer to the middle of the throat.
It is considered a very rare species tavaresia angolan (Tavaresia angolensis) – succulent with short shoots, consisting of 6-8 or 12 faces, small white spines and very large flowers, covered with red-brown specks.
Tavaresia barklyi, or Decabelone grandiflora. Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com World of Succulents
Tavaresia care at home
Despite its exotic appearance, Decabelone-Tavaresia can hardly be called capricious plants. These are some of the easiest succulents to care for and require very gentle watering, fresh air and stable heat. Even a novice florist can grow decabelone; the plant forgives careless mistakes easily, but not with waterlogging.
Lighting for tavaresia
The origin of the plant directly determines its light dependence. As in the African deserts, the decabelone rooms should receive the maximum amount of light. The optimal location for this succulent is south-facing window sills. Decabelone is not afraid of direct sunlight. So for her you need to choose the brightest place in the house.
Decabelone is a sun-dependent plant, it can tilt towards the light and deform if the illumination falls unevenly on the entire group of stems. To maintain a neat and austere appearance of the stems, it is advisable to regularly rotate the plant in relation to the light source. Turning should be abandoned only during flowering.
Comfortable temperature
Difficulties in the selection of comfortable temperature indicators for the decabelone should not arise. This succulent belongs to the most thermophilic species and reacts poorly to temperatures below 18 degrees Celsius in winter, spring and autumn. But the maximum temperatures for this plant are not limited, the decabelone-tavaresia perfectly tolerate the heat, the temperature indicators are even higher than 30 degrees Celsius.
It is impossible to grow decabelone without frequent ventilation and access to fresh air. The plant develops better in rooms with constantly open windows or regular ventilation, but it must be protected from temperature extremes and drafts.
Tavaresia (Tavaresia). Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com Petr Schön
Watering and air humidity
This succulent plant is watered very carefully, maintaining light moisture in the soil. It is better not to water Decabelone-Tavaresia on cloudy days, and in summer, let the soil partially dry out between waterings. The optimal frequency of watering for this succulent is considered 1-2 times a week in the warm season and watering once every few weeks in winter. When kept in winter, an almost dry regime is very important, abundant watering can lead to stretching of shoots and a lack of flowering. After the water procedure, water is drained from the tray immediately, not allowing it to stand even for a few minutes.
For watering taveresia, you can use only warm, the same temperature as the air or a few degrees warmer, water that has settled for at least 3 days. Watering must be done very carefully: even the slightest wetting of the stems can result in the death of the entire plant.
Dekabelone thrives in dry air. It is not necessary to carry out measures to increase the humidity for the plant even when the weather is very hot.
Top dressing for decabelone
This plant does not like excess nutrients. After transplanting for this succulent, it is better not to feed for 3 to 4 months. If there are no signs of stunted growth and lack of nutrients, then you can not feed at all in the first year after transplantation. From the second year of cultivation in one substrate or when growth slows down, obligatory regular feeding is carried out.
Top dressing for decabelone-taveresia is applied only in spring and summer, with a frequency of 1 every 3-4 weeks. It is necessary to stop and resume feeding gradually, carrying out less concentrated feeding with a lower frequency and gradually bringing these procedures to the optimal frequency in the spring and acting vice versa in the fall.
For this succulent, you can use only special fertilizers for succulent plants and cacti, because the composition of trace elements for them is no less important than the ratio of macronutrients.
Angolan Tavaresia (Tavaresia angolensis). Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com einzelfallhilfe
Tavaresia transplant and substrate
A transplant for decabelone is carried out as needed. The plant does not need to be replanted annually, it grows quite well in old and cramped containers. They are always guided by the state of the plant itself and the filling of the soil, by decorative tasks. Traditionally, taveresia is transplanted once every 1 or even 2 years.
The plant is hypersensitive to rot, so decabelone cannot be planted in any soil. For this culture, only a special substrate for succulents or cacti is used, but even an additional portion of crushed charcoal should be added to it to prevent root damage.
Containers for this succulent are selected from among the shallow and decorative. The plant grows well both in ordinary and in very tight pots, so the choice can be safely carried out in accordance with the style of interior decoration. The only requirement is the presence of large drainage holes to ensure a good drainage of water.
The transplant is carried out in the form of transshipment with the maximum preservation of the old earthen coma. It is better to avoid contact with the roots and very carefully hold the shoots, not forgetting to protect the hands. But this procedure brings much more injuries to the plant: the thorns break very easily, so contact should be literally minimized. At the bottom of the tanks, a high layer of coarse drainage must be laid.
For decabelone, starting from the first month after transplanting, it is advisable to introduce loosening into the care program: the soil should not be allowed to compact, preventing the appearance of a crust on it.
Diseases and pests of tavaresia
On this succulent, pests are very rare. The only natural enemy of decabelone is soil and root pests, which must be dealt with both by changing the level of humidity and by treating with special insecticides.
Rot is a much greater danger for taveresia, the risk of losing plants from which is very high even with the usual abundant watering.
Common problems in growing tavaresia:
- stretching the stems with improper watering in winter;
- stretching stems in insufficiently bright lighting;
- curvature of the stems in the absence of turning of the plants towards the light.
Tavaresia barklyi. Farmer Burea-Uinsurance.com Akkakul Chuengkul
Reproduction of tavaresia
This is one of the succulents that lends itself well to breeding. If desired, decabelone can be grafted onto a stock – slipway or ceropegia – to obtain more resistant and original forms, a large number of plants.
The main methods of plant propagation include growing from seeds and cuttings. When using stem cuttings, they are rooted in wet sand or a mixture of peat and sand. But this method is not optimal, because decabelones obtained from single stems grow very poorly, form bushes for a very long time, and sometimes even remain with a single stem. It is better to divide large groups of decabelone into parts and root them in the same way as single cuttings. The transplant is carried out only when the roots appear along the entire perimeter of the stem: often the cuttings release one small root, and then the development literally freezes. It is imperative to wait for full rooting.
It is very difficult to get decabelone from seeds. Usually this method is used only in industrial cultivation, because germination requires not only bottom heating, but also carefully controlled parameters of humidity, temperature and lighting.
