Velvichia is amazing
Welwitschia mirabilis
Family. Welwitschieceae
Homeland - Namibia.
There are hardly any other species in the world of plants, to which the name "amazing" so fits. The appearance of welvichia is quite common, but if we take into account the conditions under which it lives in the homeland, and the peculiarities of its structure, every fan of "vegetable" rarities will be happy to have this kind in their collection.
The famous Russian botanist B.М.Kozopolyansky wrote about this plant: "Not a tree, not a bush, not grass, but something very peculiar."
The caudex is rounded, saddle divided into two parts, in culture its diameter is about 30 cm, in natural conditions - up to 120 cm. In the lower part it passes into a powerful stem root, reaching in nature almost 1.5 m in length.
Only two sheets of elongated shape develop throughout the life of the plant, and its duration in nature is several hundred years. In culture, the maximum marked length of leaves is 3 m, in natural growth conditions - more than 8 m. In culture, leaves increase by 25-30 cm per year. Leaves of wolvichia are overgrown cotyledons, and caudex is a thickened subfamily knee, i.e., a section of the stem between the root and cotyledon leaves.
Pink tubular flowers are collected in small umbelliform inflorescences.
Courtship. Velvichie needs a bright sunlight. The temperature is 25-30 ° C.In winter, it is kept at a low temperature and slightly moistened substrate. The rest period lasts from September to April. Watering during the vegetation period is rare, since in the Namib Desert, where the Welwichia comes from, the amount of precipitation a year is no more than 50 mm, and the plant absorbs most of the moisture through the stomata located on the leaves, due to thick and frequent fogs formed due to the daily differencetemperatures. A good result is spraying, and it is best to place welvichia in a "foggy" installation in the morning hours, unless, of course, you have it.
As a substrate, use the standard mixture recommended for cacti, adding a small amount of peat. Fertilize only in the period of growth 1 time per month full mineral fertilizer.
Propagated by seeds, they are sown at the end of winter - early spring into a mixture of sifted leaf earth and brick crumb, which is previously sterilized. Seeds germinate within two weeks.