NOLINA RECURVATA

ORIGIN AND CHARACTERISTICS

This species also known as "Nolina" or "Elephant's Foot", belongs to the Asparagaceae family. Coming from eastern Mexico, it can reach 10 meters in height with abundant ramifications.

It has a very long conical stem, with a dark grayish bark. The Beucarnea Recurvata is especially known as "Elephant's Leg" due to the widening of the trunk at the bottom simulating the leg of this animal. This arborescent plant has many elongated ramifications and the leaves grouped at the apex of the branches, in the form of a rosette, are long and pointed at the end. Its color is green in its center and more yellowish at the edges of the leaves.

Flowering comes in warm seasons, giving both male flowers (2 to 3 per node) and female flowers (1 to 4 per node). Also bearing fruit and dispersing seeds for reproduction. But you have to have that its growth is very slow and we can find specimens with more than 300 years of age.

DECORATION OF ... EXTERIOR OR INTERIOR?

It can be grown both indoors and outdoors, since when they do not have a large wingspan we can include it in our home with a well-drained pot and in a sunny area to give it a touch of color in our home.

It is a plant that has a great growth but very slow at the same time, so we can incorporate it into our home without any problem when we see that it already has a large size we can transplant it to our garden or from the beginning we would include it in our garden to give it a striking and colorful touch. Its so particular shape will not leave you indifferent.

CARE FOR CACTUS AND SUCCULENTS

They are showy plants, very pretty and that practically do not need much maintenance.

- They prefer places with direct light or that have good lighting, preferably next to a window, on a balcony, a terrace or in your garden.

- They can withstand low temperatures, around 10 ºC.

- It is essential that they have good drainage, both in the soil and in a pot.

- The ideal substrate for cacti has to be combined with sand and gravel, so that they have good drainage, humidity and excess water are not good.

- Irrigation does not have to be excessive. From spring to autumn, which would be its growth period, water every 15 days, abundant watering and wait for the soil to be very dry again. In winter do not water or give one watering per month.

- Fertilizer. During the growing season (spring - autumn) you can fertilize them with worm humus. Eggshells are a good homemade fertilizer, they contain (Calcium, Iron, Potassium, magnesium and Phosphorus) these nutrients are very important and favor their growth, you must crush and mix them with the substrate, administer them a couple of times a year.

- Treatment against fungi due to excess humidity, disinfect the area with a copper-based fungicide.

- If you want to transplant them from the pot or the ground, the best time would be from spring.

And don't forget that to work with cacti you have to wear good gloves.