This pink succulent is a ray of sunshine in any living space or garden. You can grow it in a rock garden or a hanging basket in the home.
The more the succulent plant spreads, it spills over the sides of the basket for a magical display, which is why it is so great to use as a ground cover.
Graptosedum Alpenglow Care
For a bright yet unique succulent to grow, the Graptosedum alpenglow is a beautiful succulent you need to have. The colorful pink leaves grow tightly together, forming a rosette.
The alpenglow is a hybrid between two genera, the Graptopetalum and Sedum. The leaf shape is similar to the ghost plant or fancier name Graptopetalum paraguayense. It is also fast growing reaching up to eight inches tall and 12 inches wide.
When spring arrives, you can see a display of yellow flowers. The best part is this plant is easy to care for as most other succulents are.
The Type of Soil the Succulent Plant Loves
As with most cacti and succulent plants, when you care for Graptosedum alpenglow, it needs well-draining soil. Hence, growing succulents, you can use a potting mix made for succulents as it helps with moisture retention and is fast draining with enough soil aeration.
The potting soil typically has a mix of sandy soil, gravel, and perlite to provide excellent drainage. Even the pot needs to have enough drainage holes as both these features prevent rot.
Light Requirement for Graptosedum Alpenglow
For Graptosedum care and light, this is one sun-loving plant that needs a lot of bright light. Placed your plant outdoors, it grows well in bright shade and is a hardy succulent plant that’s leaves remain evergreen during winter.
You can grow it indoors as it does well under a grow light or on a windowsill. It needs at least six hours of direct sunlight each day, whether grown outdoors or inside.
How To Water Graptosedum Alpenglow
During Graptosedum alpenglow active growing season, you can give your baby water when the soil is dry.
Yet, allowing the soil to dry in between watering is essential. When winter arrives, it helps to cut back on the watering as it can lead to root rot.
That is why it helps to have a well-drained soil mixture allowing excess water to drain for you to remove from underneath the pot.
Fertilizer Needs for The Mother Plant
The Graptosedum alpenglow is not a colossal feeder and flourishes on a low nitrogen fertilizer of about 13-13-12 for indoor plants. When grown outdoors or even under lights, you can feed your plant a very weak liquid fertilizer once a month during the growing period to produce flowers.
Temperature and Humidity Levels Not a Cold Hardy Plant
The plant displays well in hanging baskets and outdoors, but it is not cold hardy for growing in freezing temperatures. You can keep your Sedum hybrid in warm temperatures outdoors in full sun but take care that it does not dry out.
Your plant can tolerate fluctuating temperatures but advisable to keep it away from frost. The ideal temperatures are 55°F to 60°F during the evenings and up to 70°F for the day. When you grow your Graps inside, it needs ample airflow, and do not mist those leaves as it leads to rot.
If you live in an arid climate, we recommend placing a pebble tray with water underneath your plant. It grows in the USDA hardiness zone seven to ten as a perennial plant.
Pruning Your Succulent Plant
Your succulent does not need much shaping or pruning as it forms a tight rosette. When your plant is dormant during the winter, you can remove damaged leaves or old flower stalks.
Still, we do not recommend removing all the old brown foliage as your plant might start to look untidy. Instead, a great way is to pinch the ends on the stems when they reach 0.50 ft in height.
You can then take those stem cuttings to repot, which helps form more heads. Any pruning should be done when the plant is not actively growing unless you see a dead leaf. Neither will your plant need transplanting often.
You will only need to repot when you notice the roots poking out the drainage hole or see signs of it being root-bound.
Propagation of The Mother Plant
Luckily, the Graptosedum alpenglow you can propagate to ensure you always have this beautiful succulent plant. Here are the different ways you can multiply your plant.
Stem cuttings
With a sterile sharp knife, you can remove a section from the stem of the main plant. Leave the cuttings to callus for a few days before you place them in well-draining soil and water once the soil is dry.
Leaves Propagation
Twist a leaf from your mother plant and ensure that none of the leaves remains on the stem. Leave the leaf to callus for a few days and place it in the recommended succulent potting soil.
Offsets/pups
When your plant matures, it starts to grow pups you can cut off from the main stem using a knife cleaned with rubbing alcohol. Leave the pups to dry for a day or two before you lay them on the soil to develop roots.
Graptosedum Alpenglow Varieties
In the Graptosedum genus, you can find some beautiful varieties to add to your succulent collection.
Graptosedum California Sunset
The California sunset is a popular succulent found on most houseplant owners’ lists. It is a hybrid between the Graptosedum paraguayense and Sedum adolphi. As a result, many people refer to it as the peach blossom.
The attractive part of the plant is the color display of the rosette in orange with green. It is a sprawling plant reaching eight inches tall with thick leaves growing around an inch. During spring, you see this gorgeous display of white flowers.
The plant needs bright sunlight to full sun with warmth, and it is not a cold hardy plant.
Graptosedum Darley Sunshine
Another colorful variety is the Darley sunshine, a crossbreed between the Graptopetalum paraguayense and Sedum pachyphyllum. The foliage displays a green-pink hue with thick fleshy leaves.
The color can range from green and purple to pink, reaching up to eight inches tall. It also produces a gorgeous white flower in spring.
Graptosedum Ghosty
The ghost has thick red-green leaves and is another hybrid found between the Graptopetalum and Sedum, yet until today the parent plant variety remains unknown.
The leaves have a faded green hue with a red overshadow. The plant can reach up to 12 inches tall and four inches wide. The more sun the leaves receive, the more vibrant the color is.
Common Problems
As with most succulents, your plant can become the home to disease and pests. The most common pests are thrips and spider mites to mealybugs.
These insects suck out the plant sap resulting in discoloration of the foliage. Other concerns are root rot and a black sooty mold that can result from overwatering your plant.
Therefore it is crucial to leave the soil completely dry before watering.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you live in the hardiness zones seven to ten, you can grow the Graptosedum alpenglow as a perennial outdoors. Hence, it will survive the winter months as it comes back into bloom when the weather warms up.
The mature leaves of this succulent will be orange, red, or purple, while the younger leaves will be green. The leaves have an elliptic shape with a pointed top. The flower is yellow with oval petals and pointed ends.
No, the succulent is a slow grower reaching a height of 5.9 inches tall with a width of 11-inches.
One thing is that the Graptosedum alpenglow is not a rare plant, and you can find it at most of the local garden centers. Yet, we have even greater news. You can look through the Plantly Collect here to find one to display in your home.
Whether you want to buy, sell, or simply reach out to other plant enthusiasts, Plantly is the right place to be!
