Pachyphytum
Give it the brightest position you have from the start: a pachyphytum that stretches in its first season never regains the tight rosette, and the only fix is to behead and restart it.
Care
Full sun — the pastel colours and the compact form both depend on it; in shade it stretches and goes plain green.
Very low — water only when the leaves start to lose firmness, and keep it nearly dry from late autumn to early spring.
Gritty, very free-draining cactus and succulent compost. A terracotta pot helps by drying faster than plastic.
None needed. Behead a stretched, leggy plant in spring and re-root the rosette; the stump usually produces offsets, so you end up with more plants rather than fewer.
A half-strength cactus feed once or twice in summer, no more. Fertiliser makes the leaves swell and lose their compact form and pastel bloom, which is the whole appeal of the plant.
Twist off a whole leaf cleanly at the stem, let it callus for several days, then lay it on dry gritty compost — a rosette and roots form at the base within weeks. Handle the leaves by the edges: the waxy bloom is easily rubbed off and does not grow back.
Month by month
Months change with the climate: in southern Italy tomatoes go out two months earlier than in England.
- MarchStart watering again sparingly as growth and flowering begin. how ›
- MayRepot into fresh gritty compost and take leaf cuttings at the same time. how ›
- NovemberKeep nearly dry for the winter; cold plus wet compost is what kills it. how ›
Months based on climate: UK. Your choice stays on this device.
- MarchStart watering again sparingly as growth and flowering begin. how ›
- MayRepot into fresh gritty compost and take leaf cuttings at the same time. how ›
- NovemberKeep nearly dry for the winter; cold plus wet compost is what kills it. how ›
Months based on climate: Northern Italy. Your choice stays on this device.
- FebruaryStart watering again sparingly as growth and flowering begin. how ›
- AprilRepot into fresh gritty compost and take leaf cuttings at the same time. how ›
- NovemberKeep nearly dry for the winter; cold plus wet compost is what kills it. how ›
Months based on climate: Central Italy. Your choice stays on this device.
- FebruaryStart watering again sparingly as growth and flowering begin. how ›
- AprilRepot into fresh gritty compost and take leaf cuttings at the same time. how ›
- DecemberKeep nearly dry for the winter; cold plus wet compost is what kills it. how ›
Months based on climate: Southern Italy and islands. Your choice stays on this device.
Common problems
How to spot it. Long bare stem with a rosette only at the tip.
What to do. Too little light — move to full sun and behead the rosette to restart the plant.
How to spot it. Shiny fingerprints where the chalky coating has been touched.
What to do. Permanent on that leaf — handle by the pot or the leaf edges only.
How to spot it. Soft, translucent lower leaves after a wet winter.
What to do. Keep almost dry in winter, repot into gritty compost and remove rotted roots.
Questions
Pachyphytum: is it hardy?
H2: Tender. It survives down to 1 °C.
Can it grow in a pot?
Yes — a small terracotta pot on the sunniest windowsill is exactly right.
Pachyphytum: when do you prune it?
None needed.
Pachyphytum: when does it flower?
In the climate of UK it flowers in March–May.
When do you feed it?
A half-strength cactus feed once or twice in summer, no more. Fertiliser makes the leaves swell and lose their compact form and pastel bloom, which is the whole appeal of the plant. Feeding months, UK: May, July.