Stone Lotus Flower: Care And Propagation

Introduction

Stone Lotus Flower is the small compacted succulent with thick fleshy, plump leaves with colored edges overlapping each other to give a rosette appearance. The leaves of stone lotus flowers are rich in colors and have wide varieties. They have closed flowers with pink or yellow petals which open gradually like in Lotus. The petals on maturity turn into the leaves. 

Stone Lotus Flowers are tropical, evergreen, perennial succulents and are grown mostly indoors and sometimes outdoors. They thrive in sunny and humid areas. They can be placed at any corner of the desk or small spaces between other plants. They are native to Mexico and Northwest of Central and South America. The suitable climate for these succulents includes from the coastline to the sub tropical climate without frost. 

What makes them unique is their magnificent foliage beauty tagging them as a  popular foliage plant widely used to decorate the balcony, office area, restaurants, etc. Or used as a filler plant due to their handy miniature form. Lotus Stone Flowers are entitled as the fleshy world’s Lotus. They are called Echeveria Lotus. They are rare succulents. They can turn into invasive species if their leaves get teared off accidently from the mother plant. They are fragrant and have a special feature to absorb harmful radiations.

None of the stone lotus varieties are poisonous. Instead, they have some medicinal benefits. They help in cooling blood and calming the liver. They can even treat liver cirrhosis, black spot, damp heat hepatitis, leucorrhea, periodontal pain, liver spot, gout, hypertension and other diseases. Thus, they are beneficial medicinal materials.

Also Read: 

Monkey Tail Cactus: Care and Propagation

Crassula Capitella: Care And Propagation

Botanical Classification

Kingdom:  Plantae

Clade:      Tracheophytes

Clade:      Angiosperms

Clade:      Eudicots

Order:      Saxifragales

Family:     Crassulaceae

Genus:     Echeveria

Stone Lotus Flower Care

Stone Lotus Flower is highly popular among the busy minds who can’t look after the plants on a daily basis. This succulent is easy to take care of and doesn’t require any special techniques or resources while planting them.

Light

Stone Lotus Flower can thrive in substantial bright sunlight for about 4-5 hours daily. They go into dormancy during summer and early spring. So, keeping them outdoors during dormancy can let them get sunburned. They grow well in winter and late spring. They are faced towards the direct sunlight during their growth phase. Keeping them in direct sunlight during winter leads to the coloration of leaves to red slowly from the tip. The leaves get elongated and leggy if they don’t get enough sunlight.

Temperature

They are winter type of succulents. Stone lotus flower can thrive in sunny places during winter. Watering is done regularly for their proper growth when the minimum night temperature becomes 10 °C. The plant is kept moist or dry and watering is done only a few times when temperature is low. They can withstand the minimum temperature of 5°C or 0°C but not freezing temperatures.

Soil

These succulents grow best in well drained, friable and well aerated soils. They have numerous thin white fibrous roots which need proper space to spread and carry out respiration. The holes are made on the base of pots to ensure proper circulation. The loose soil with adequate amounts of oxygen prevents the roots from getting rot. In case of poor draining soil, the air space is occupied by water instead of oxygen leading to occurrence of root rot and fungal infections. Other materials like coco peat, peat moss, and perlite are mixed with the soil mix to increase its drainage.

Watering

Stone Lotus Flowers are drought tolerant succulents. So, watering is done mostly once or twice a week or even once in every 2 days when there is  low humidity. Slow misting is adequate to fulfil their water requirements and keep them fairly moist. Watering time is determined by looking at the changing color of the soil. In case of water lodging or stagnant situation, the undrained water should be removed immediately to prevent root rot and discoloration of the plant. Watering should be done directly into the soil. The watering frequency is lowered in the dormancy period which occurs mostly during summer.

Fertilizers

The liquid fertilizers containing high potassium and phosphorus should be spread once in every 20 days. The fertilizers should be diluted by adding water to prevent overdose at a particular place. Fertigation is stopped when the succulents go dormant i.e. mostly during summer season and restarted when normal growth starts i.e. during early spring and winter.

Potting And Repotting

The container or the selected pot is filled up with the well draining potting mix and then new baby plants are dipped into the soil. The original leaf where the baby plant was growing from can be left along with the new plant or are wiggled off gently without breaking anything if the pot size is smaller for them to fit in. If they are planted along with the baby plants, they are teared off after they die off and become easier to pull out. The soil should be kept somewhat moist but not wet. 

The remaining pedicles and extra leaves are trimmed off once in a year or two. Repotting is done when the plant becomes huge for the old pot to handle or when most of the nutrients of the potting mix are drained off. While repotting, a new cactus potting mix is filled into the pot after dumping out the old soil mix. Regular potting soil can also be used if that’s what is available around you.  

Propagation Of Stone Lotus Flower

Stone Lotus Flowers are propagated either by seeds or by leaf cuttings. The leaf cutting method being easier, accessible and less risky is used mostly to propagate these succulents.

By seeds

• While propagating from the seeds, the seeds are first scarified i.e. the hardened tip is removed to overcome seed dormancy.

• Soak them in water until sprouts can be seen.

• The sprouted seeds are then sown in the moist potting mix.

• Water them regularly. You can see the growth of plants after a few weeks.

By leaf cuttings

• First, wiggle off the leaves so that it breaks off from the stem with a clean cut. Keep in mind not to rip or tear the leaves because it won’t grow. It’s supposed to look like it just came off the plant.

• Few leaves can be propagated at the same time. So, grab as many leaves as you want to propagate.

• Leave them to get callused for about 2 to 3 days above the potting mix. They may get soggy if not callused.

• Make sure not to let the end of the tail to fly pointing up because the roots will go into the air and they don’t really have anywhere to attach to. So, wiggle and make sure to keep its edge on the same level of soil.

• Water them once in a 2 days interval and the root growth is seen within a week.

• After a month, you can see their rooted little babies growing on the edges.

• Transplant them into new pots to let them grow freely and water them regularly.

After tearing off the leaves, their stems can also be replanted on a new media to grow new sets of roots from their nodes.

Price

The price of Stone Lotus Flower varies from 0.5 $ to 12 $ depending on their size.

Common Problems

There are several pest, disease and fungal problems in Stone Lotus Flowers and some of them are given below and the proper management should be followed to protect the plants.

• Rust may be caused by the Fungal infection.
• Leaf spots appear due to infection of seminiflora.
• Root rot nematodes mainly damage the root system.
• When water droplets stay on the leaf surface overnight, bacteria grows causing discoloration and rot.
• Watering or dropping fertilizers with pressure from greater height may lead to leaf scars destroying their foliar beauty.

Pros

The pros of Stone Lotus Flowers are mentioned as below:

• They absorb harmful radiation emitted by different media like PC, Mobile and can purify the air.
• They are very easy to propagate and grow.
• They have many medicinal benefits.
• They can be grown in any size pot depending on the place we are decorating with it.
• They are quite handy and can even be kept on the office desk.

Cons

There are some cons of Stone Lotus Flowers which are mentioned as below:

• They can’t be used as a main decor plant in your indoor space due to its small size.

• The slight negligence in watering frequency may cause root rot or core rot.

• If watering or fertilizer application is done from high, the leaves are damaged destroying their foliar beauty for which they are planted.

• Over-watering is the major cause of death in most of the plant.

• Since the leaves are compacted and overlapped, the damaged parts or any pest infestation if any can’t be seen easily. 

Conclusion

Succulent like Stone Lotus Flowers are one of a kind with amazing medicinal benefits and exceptional foliar beauty. Their bright red tips and lotus shaped plant create a beautiful sight to behold in your indoor space. They are definitely a miracle nature has blessed us with. Keeping them near protects us from the effects of harmful radiations caused by mediums like Mobiles which are undoubtedly always in our hands or on the working desk.

Stone Lotus Flowers even act as air purifiers maintaining proper ventilation in your space. Along with their eye appealing sight, these succulents create a positive vibe and bright mood when kept near the working or studying area. However, one should be ready to make efforts for their proper care and management. One’s ability to distinguish soil texture and determine the watering time and frequency highly influence their growth. With such great benefits from a small, handy succulent easy to propagate anywhere, it’s all loss not to choose them as a best houseplant to decorate your free space.