Most growers of succulent plants have their own special techniques and soil mixtures.. This is certainly also the case with all collectors who grow ceropegiads. But I also know that many are put off by failure to grow them. Apart from a few species mat will adapt to most kinds of climate and growing conditions, most species require special attention, while some are virtually impossible to keep alive for long periods.

I have grown them for some twenty years, and have through losses developed a few techniques to keep them growing and flowering for long periods. These I would like to share with those who are still trying to establish a war to keep them alive.

Introducing new material

New plants can be established in a collection in different wars.

Growing from seed

Ceropegiads, like most other asclepiads, hybridize easily when grown together with other species, and seeds collected in a plant house may well produce hybrid offspring. The best seeds to use are usually those collected from plants growing in nature, but seeds produced by hand pollination are just as good.

I always use sterilized soil. This I do with boiling water, which is poured into the seed pot. In this war the pot and the soil will be cleaned. Sterilizing in a microwave oven is also fine, and when a clay pot is used, it could be done in an oven too.

Ceropegiads_in_cultivation

Dennis de Kock,
Asklepios 91/2004