Gasteria liliputana — a miniature ox-tongue succulent with speckled, strap-shaped leaves that tolerates more shade than almost any other succulent. For windowsills, terrariums and dish gardens.
Gasterias are the aloes’ shade-loving cousins, and liliputana is the smallest of them: a fan of thick, tongue-shaped leaves, dark green speckled white, that stays under three inches tall and slowly offsets into a clump. It grows in the shade of rocks in South Africa, which makes it one of the few succulents that is happy on a desk or a north windowsill in an Arizona house, and it flowers — small pink-and-green tubes on a wiry stem — in spring.
Bright shade, water when dry, and check the crown for mealybugs now and then. The rest of the bench is on our Succulents page.
This is the gasteria we commonly carry. Availability changes week to week and season to season, so call (480) 987-3308 or stop in to see what’s on the bench today.
Thick, strap-shaped, white-speckled leaves in a low fan or rosette two to three inches tall, clumping with age. Pink tubular flowers on a slender stalk in spring. Bright shade; dry between waterings.
Looking for one that isn’t listed? Ask — we can usually suggest a close match or tell you when it tends to come around.
The care tag was written somewhere else. This is the Queen Creek version.
Bright indirect light or bright shade: a north window, a desk a few feet from a window, or under a patio roof outdoors. Direct sun bleaches and scorches the leaves; even an east window can be too much in summer if the sun hits the plant directly. It tolerates lower light than any other succulent we sell.
Room temperature year-round indoors. Outdoors it handles our heat in deep shade and is damaged below about 30°F; bring it in for frosty nights. It grows mostly in spring and fall and rests in the summer heat.
A succulent fertilizer at quarter strength once in spring is enough. Too much food produces soft, pale growth.
Water when the mix is fully dry — every two weeks in spring and fall, every three to four weeks in summer and winter. Water the soil, not the crown. A gritty cactus mix in a small pot with drainage; it rots in damp soil.
Small, shallow pots; it has a compact root system. Gritty, fast-draining mix. Repot every two to three years or when offsets fill the pot, and separate the pups then.
Non-toxic to cats and dogs. Mealybugs are the pest, and they hide between the tightly packed leaves — inspect the crown monthly and swab with rubbing alcohol.
Stretching, mushy stems, a sunburned side — snap a photo of the plant and where it lives and we’ll sort it out at the bench. Advice is free.
Succulents live or die on drainage. We stock cactus and succulent mix, pumice and grit to open it up further, slow-release low-nitrogen fertilizer, and the shallow terracotta and glazed pots that dry out the way they like. The pottery yard has bowls, strawberry jars and hanging baskets for the trailing types.
No — it prefers bright shade and scorches in direct sun. It is one of the best succulents for a north windowsill or a desk.
When the soil is completely dry: every two weeks in spring and fall, every three to four weeks in summer and winter.
Yes — gasterias are non-toxic to cats and dogs.
Too much light. Move it to a shadier spot; the new leaves will come in dark green and speckled.
Yes — small pink-and-green tubular flowers on a thin arching stalk in spring, more reliably on plants a few years old.
In an open terrarium or dish garden with gritty soil and sparing water, yes. Closed terrariums stay too damp for it.
Gasteria live on the succulent bench; any staff member can point you to them. Locally owned, and a short drive from San Tan Valley, Gilbert, Chandler and Mesa.