Can you narrow this gasteria down for me, please? And any other observations about the plant would be most welcome. Many thanks
http://www.aridlands.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=28&products_id=318 Gasteria bicolor var. liliputana This species is commonly cultivated. I have one myself. Nice little plant. It will fill out and make a nice specimen. Flowers freely.
By the way, I wonder if you could answer a couple more questions. Thanks. The plant is app. 8" wide and has grown a lot since I got it. Would it be better to wait until Spring to re-pot it, and is there a proper size of pot for the plant size? Also, does this plant develop into rosette form? So far there is no indication of that.
Wait until spring to repot. They do not form a rosette, but will sprout new growth from between the leaves and at the base of the plant. It appears fairly random. It is a nice compact plant that spreads slowly. It has a small root system and fits nicely into a shallow bonsai pot without having to trim the roots.
Great. Thanks again. I have a decent-sized bonsai pot from a failed Chinese Elm, but it would never have occurred to me to plant the gasteria in it. I always imagined all succulents having deep penetrating roots out of necessity.
On the contrary, most have shallow root systems that spread out wide...much further than, say, the height or width of the plant above the soil line. A few large species may send down a tap root, but it tends to function more for plant stability and/or water/nutrient storage. Some may also have thickened or fleshy roots for water/nutrient storage. In arid climates, plants must be able to obtain water quickly before the soil dries. Water in these areas is either insufficient to seep deeply into the soil, and/or the soil is so dry and compact that water will sit on the surface, often leading to flash floods. A broad, shallow root system increases the available surface area to obtain limited water.
