| Life form | Wood, succulent |
| Family | Stercullaceae |
| Origin | Australia |
| Ease of cultivation | Easy with little difficulty |
| The size | At room conditions – 0.5 m, in vivo -. 6 m Characteristic “bottle” trunk (caudex) develops to 8 years. |
| Growth rate | Low |
| Lifespan | Many years |
| Temperature | In summer: up to 95 ° F, in winter, if kept at rest, a temperature of at least 50 ° F is desirable. |
| Humidity | Moderate. |
| Lighting | Bright sun or slight shadow. Suitable south window. |
| The soil | Shop soil for succulents is suitable with a small addition of sand. For a mixture of own preparation, take: 3 parts of coarse sand or perlite, 2 parts of garden land, 2 parts of humus (leafy earth), 1 part of charcoal and bone meal, lime or a little egg-shell. Good drainage is required. The pH is ideal at 5,5 – 6,5. |
| Watering | The top layer of soil between waterings in the summer should dry up. Watered about every 10-15 days, in November and February 1 once a month, in December and January, almost no watering. |
| Fertilizer | Young plants need a fertilizer rich in phosphorus to form a normal root system. Adult plants should be fertilized 2-3 times during the summer with a complex liquid fertilizer, alternating with conventional fertilizer with fertilizer for cacti. |
| Reproduction | The most suitable way is to multiply pre-soaked seeds for 24 hours, which are planted in a mixture of peat, perlite and sand. Sprout at high temperature not light. It sprouts in 1-3 weeks, but as a whole it grows quite a long time. When the seedlings reach a height of 2.5 cm, dive and transplant them into a small pot. It is propagated also by cuttings about 12 cm long, which, after drying, are placed in a loose substrate of sand, moss and perlite with the addition of fungicide. Cover with a film. |
| Bloom | In indoor culture it blooms extremely rarely in the middle of summer. The flowers are very small and yellow. |
| Transfer | In spring, young plants should be transferred every year and adults every 3-4 years. Transplant to the same depth on which he grew earlier or slightly higher. Adult plants require a fairly heavy pot, because A massive overhead part may outweigh the underground. |
| Features of care | A period of winter rest is needed. Suitable for bonsai. The plant can be very drawn out, in this case needs to be served in the spring pruning. |
| Difficulties | It is affected by spider mites, scale insects and whiteflies. Root rot is possible with excessive watering. Suffers from lack of light: it grows slowly, shoots are stretched, leaves become less, they become pale. Young plants can suffer from excess light because sunburn occurs on the leaves. |
| Air cleaning | – |
| Toxicity | The juice that is released during pruning irritates the skin, therefore avoid contact with the eyes. |
