The mesem They are herbaceous upholstery plants that are widely used to give color and joy to a garden during a good part of the year. They produce very beautiful flowers and also do not need much care, so they are often one of the best options to have in our particular paradise 🙂.
But ... do we really know them? If you have doubts about how they are and what is their maintenance, do not worry. Next I present them to you.
Origin and characteristics
Our protagonist is a annual, biennial or rarely perennial which belongs to the botanical genus Mesembryanthemum, which is composed of 105 accepted species. It is native to southern Africa, and is characterized by having generally opposite leaves, sometimes alternate, flat or semi-circular in section. The flowers are solitary or on top pauciflora, axillary and opposite to the leaves. The fruit is a capsule with 4-5 valves that contain numerous small, globose or compressed seeds.
Its growth rate is quite fast, reaching a maximum height of five centimeters, and occupying a space of about 40 or 50cm.
What are their cares?
If you want to have a copy, we recommend that you provide it with the following care:
- Location: it must be outside, in an area where sunlight shines throughout the day.
- Earth:
- Pot: universal growing substrate mixed with 30% perlite.
- Garden: the mesem grows in all types of soils as long as they have good drainage.
- Irrigation: about 3 times a week in summer, and every 4 or 5 days the rest of the year.
- Subscriber: in spring and summer with a fertilizer for cacti and other succulents.
- Multiplication: by seeds and cuttings in spring.
- Rusticity: most species do not resist cold. It is recommended that the temperature does not drop below 0 degrees.
What did you think of the mesem? Have you ever seen it?