Beaucarnea, a great plant for dry gardens

The beaucarnea It is a very drought resistant plant that can be grown in a wide variety of climates, and even indoors. As it has a fairly slow growth rate, it is one of those plant beings with which it is very easy to enjoy a very original and elegant corner.

But what is this plant like? And the most important, What are the care that we must provide for her to be healthy?

Origin and characteristics of the Beaucarnea

Our protagonist is a native plant of Mexico, Belize and Guatemala that belongs to the genus Beaucarnea, which is composed of nine species distributed in two sections that are:

• Beaucarnea section:
  • B. helpamnii
  • B. guatemalensis
  • B. foldable
  • B. recurvata
• Nipple section:
  • B. compact
  • B. gracilis
  • B. Hiriatiae
  • B. tight
  • B. sanctomarian

It grows as a tree whose trunk is acquiring a bottle shape of 20cm up to 4 meters in diameter and 6 to 10 meters high.. The leaves are evergreen, linear, leathery and can measure from 50 to 180 cm in length by 1,5 to 2 cm in width.

The flowers form a panicle (it is a racemose inflorescence) 75 to 110cm long, 1,5mm in diameter and greenish-white. The fruit is dry and indehiscent, that is, it does not open spontaneously when ripe.

As a curiosity, to say that their life expectancy is very long: it can live for more than 300 years.

What are their cares?

If you would like to purchase a copy, we recommend that you provide it with the following care:

Location

• Outdoor: full sun.
• Interior: in a room with plenty of natural light.

Earth

• the garden: the soil must have good drainage.
• Flower pot: we can mix universal culture substrate mixed with perlite in equal parts. It can also be filled with pumice alone or mixed with a little peat.

Irrigation

It has to be very scarce. During the hottest season we will water once or twice a week at most, and the rest of the year every 15-20 days.

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From early spring to late summer it is advisable to fertilize it with a liquid fertilizer to succulents Well, even if it is not one of them, it has similar nutritional needs.

Planting or transplanting time

Whether we want to plant it in the garden or move it to a larger pot, something that by the way we have to do every two years, we will have to wait for spring to arrive.

Multiplication

The Beaucarnea multiplies by seeds and by shoots in spring. Let us know how to proceed in each case:

Seeds

To sow your seeds you have to follow this step by step:

1. The first thing we will do is fill a pot of about 10,5cm in diameter with universal growing substrate mixed with perlite in equal parts or with vermiculite.
2. Afterwards, we put a maximum of 3-4 seeds on the surface of the substrate and spread a little copper or sulfur to avoid the appearance of fungi.
3. Then, we put a thin layer of substrate.
4. Finally, we water with the help of a sprayer.

Now what remains is to place the pot outside, in semi-shade or in full sun, and keep the substrate always slightly damp. A) Yes, seeds will germinate in 15-20 days.

Stems

If we want to multiply it by scions, that is, by the suckers that sprout next to it, we have to wait for them to reach an easily manipulated size. After, we will dig some trenches of about 30cm around, and with a serrated knife or a hand saw previously disinfected with pharmacy alcohol we will separate it of the mother plant.

Finally, we plant it in a pot with vermiculite and we water with homemade rooting agents in order to help you cast new roots.

Pests

Beaucarnea is a plant very resistant to the attacks of insects that cause pests, however, it can be affected by:

• Mites: as the Red spider. They are deposited on the leaves, from where they feed. They are eliminated with acaricides.
• Mealybugs: they can be cottony and have the shape of a limpet or shield. They also feed on the leaves in addition to the stems. They can be removed by hand or with a swab from the ears dipped in pharmacy rubbing alcohol.

Rusticity

It is very sensitive to cold. It can be grown outdoors all year long as long as the temperature does not drop below -2 degrees Celsius. In the case of living in one where it tends to freeze or snow, the ideal would be to have our Beaucarnea indoors during the winter months and take it outside in spring, when the temperature rises above 15ºC.

Where to buy it?

La Beaucarnea, or to be more precise, the Beaucarnea recurvata which is a plant that we know as nolina or elephant foot, we can find it in any nursery and garden store. It is also possible to see it in local markets in spring and summer. The other species can only be purchased through online stores.

The price is pretty good: we usually find that in the same pot there are 2 or 3 specimens growing together, with a height of about 20cm and that they cost only about 5 or 6 euros.

What did you think of this plant?