This week I'd like to introduce a Lebanese native species: Rosularia libanotica. These miniature rosette forming clumping succulents are present in the high mountains of Lebanon and north Israel.
Habitat: Exclusively on west facing rock walls, house walls, in crevices and on moss beds receiving part sun. Full sun plants are much more compact and generally less than 1 2.5cm across. Altitude ranges between 1400 and 2300m. Here are typical habitat photos:
Description: it is a short stemmed rosette forming succulent capable of forming large colonies more than half a meter across if conditions are favorable. Leaf length depends on sun exposure but typically around 2cm. Some
Habitat photos:
Flowers are usually white with a thin dark stripe in the middle and abundant in late spring. It never occured to me take photos of the flower so here's one i found online of the Israeli plants:
Seeds are brown, very fine and dust like and encapusled in small seedpods containg several dozens of seeds.
Temperature range and hardiness: Plants spend all winter covered by 30cm to 1.5m of snow. Temperatures can dip below freezing for several days in winter. During summer temperatures can reach around 28-30 degrees celsius. Above that, plants will go dormant and lose their color.
I have found that my cultivated plants that i moved to the coast where much more drought and heat tolerant than other rosette forming succulents like echeverias and aloes.
Cultivation: Plants are quite easy in cultivation but very slow. They grow best if neglected like this volunteer plant with my Cedrus libani. Notice how they green up in winter.
Plants are extremely drought tolerant even in the heat. They curl up inside while the dead outer leaves shade the plant. They require a free draining medium with little to no soil. The abundance of fine roots will penetrate all crevices to search for water and nutrients. Rosularia libanotica is very water tolerant and i have never seen a plant rot. Here is one of my pot grown and cared for plants. It is much slower to grow than neglected plants but is in much better shape.
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They can grow in some shade but will require a certain level of sunlight or they will become leggy like this plant:
I managed to collect a couple of thousand of seeds from plants around my property but never managed to sow them so i cannot comment on ease of growing from seeds.
Rosularia libanotica
- ElieEstephane
- Posts: 2909
- Joined: Tue Dec 13, 2016 12:10 am
- Location: Lebanon (zone 11a)
Rosularia libanotica
There are more cacti in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
One of the few cactus lovers in Lebanon (zone 11a)
One of the few cactus lovers in Lebanon (zone 11a)
Re: Rosularia libanotica
Sounds like a native stand in for the sempervivum. Never even seen a rosularia here. Guess they are rare in cultivation.
- ElieEstephane
- Posts: 2909
- Joined: Tue Dec 13, 2016 12:10 am
- Location: Lebanon (zone 11a)
Re: Rosularia libanotica
We have sempervivum in the mountains too along with many sedums.
There are more cacti in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
One of the few cactus lovers in Lebanon (zone 11a)
One of the few cactus lovers in Lebanon (zone 11a)
Re: Rosularia libanotica
Well, ive read and heard we had sempervivums in some areas, and still have in others, but those are if you are into climbing(im certainly not). Yes we have sedums to, and a lot of at that-ive seen 4 difrent species of sedum so far).
Anyway, feel like rosularia is a underused crassulaceae genus. These days all the rage is echeverias and money plants.
Anyway, feel like rosularia is a underused crassulaceae genus. These days all the rage is echeverias and money plants.