Graptopetalum paraguayense (Ghost Plant)

Scientific Name

Graptopetalum paraguayense (N.E.Br.) E.Walther

Common Names

Ghost Plant, Mother of Pearl Plant

Synonyms

Byrnesia weinbergii, Cotyledon paraguayensis, Echeveria weinbergii, Sedum weinbergii

Scientific Classification

Family: Crassulaceae
Subfamily: Sedoideae
Tribe: Sedeae
Subtribe: Sedinae
Genus: Graptopetalum

Description

Graptopetalum paraguayense is a colorful, succulent perennial with up to 6 inches (15 cm) wide rosettes, holding thick, triangular, pointed, flat leaves that range in color from pale blue to light purple. The fleshy rosettes spread on stems creating a low spreading colony up to 1 foot (30 cm) tall. The flowers are 0.8 inch (2 cm) wide and white in color, with small red specks.

Hardiness

USDA hardiness zone 7b to 11b: from 5 °F (−15 °C) to 50 °F (+10 °C).

How to Grow and Care

When planting your Ghost Plant in a container, make sure you choose a well-drained potting media and a container with drainage holes. Try mixing Ghost Plant with other forms of succulents for an intersting yet low-maintenance planting.

Or you can incorporate your Ghost Plant into a rock garden. You can create a rock garden by piling large rocks like limestone as the base and filling in gaps with smaller stones, gravel, and pockets of soil for planting.

Ghost Plant thrives in sunlight, so choose a location where it will receive full or half-day sun. When grown as a houseplant, keep it near a south, east, or west window.

Some people prefer to keep their Ghost Plant trimmed to create a fuller shape. For a different look, you can allow it to get a little “leggy”. This allows the twisting stems to gently climb out of the pot, cascading down. Be sure to allow the soil to almost completely dry between waterings… – See more at: How to Grow and Care for a Ghost Plant

Origin

Graptopetalum paraguayense is native to Mexico (Tamaulipas).

Subspecies, Varieties, Forms, Cultivars and Hybrids

• Graptopetalum paraguayense subsp. bernalense
• Graptopetalum ‘Purple Haze’
• x Graptosedum ‘California Sunset’
  
• x Graptosedum ‘Francesco Baldi’
• x Graptoveria ‘Acaulis’
• x Graptoveria ‘Douglas Huth’
• x Graptoveria ‘Fred Ives’
• x Graptoveria ‘Titubans’

Links

• Back to genus Graptopetalum
• Succulentopedia: Browse succulents by Scientific Name, Common Name, Genus, Family, USDA Hardiness Zone, Origin, or cacti by Genus

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