Are mountain roses really flowers that never die?

Succulent enthusiasts must know that there is a succulent plant named for being like a rose. It is the mountain rose Aeonium aureum. However, they are not roses growing in the mountains, but a general name for a class of succulent plants of the family crassulaceae. Mountain roses are called because they bloom like roses, but because their rosette-shaped leaves close together and fall dormant like rosebuds during the summer heat.

The part that looks like a rose is actually a leaf. Picture: bramwellii / Flickr

Mountain rose is an Aeonium plant of the genus Nelumbo nucifera, which comes from the ancient Greek word "aionos", meaning "eternal". Ironically, however, the mother plants of about 35 species of the genus will slowly apoptosis after flowering.

Most members of the genus Nelumbo nucifera have stout branched fleshy stems, fleshy leaves rosette at the ends of the branches, and flowers star-shaped and densely clustered on inverted pyramid-shaped inflorescences. The black mage commonly seen in the flower market is a representative horticultural variety of the genus.

In California, many people grow some kinds of lotus palms like trees in their own backyard. Picture: fineartamerica.com

Is it better to wrap as tightly as possible?

Compared with the "giants" of the same genus who can grow up to 1 to 2 meters, mountain roses are much smaller. Their largest size is only 20~30cm, and their stems are very short. They grow close to the ground like golden lotus, which can be regarded as one of the cute points.

Although they are not roses, mountain roses really grow on the mountains. Its hometown is a series of islands formed by volcanic eruptions in the Canary Islands of Spain. The seemingly weak mountain roses are camped out on the red ochre cliffs, guarding this quiet and good years.

Mountain roses of origin. Picture: Ficai Paolo / Flickr

Meat fans like mountain roses, but they just like their leaves "wrapped as tightly as possible", which they think is very cute. In fact, the performance of these leaves is not their state of health. When succulent plants encounter high temperature in summer, to a certain extent, by changing the external morphological characteristics, stagnant their own metabolic function, in order to survive the harsh environment.

Mountain roses will dormant in summer, the new leaves will close to the center to form a bud state, reduce the transpiration area, the outer old leaves will dry up and fall off, sacrifice themselves, this is their self-protection behavior. At this time, the maintenance should be sunshaded and ventilated, be careful not to overwater, or even cut off water for two months. Too much care will cause them to rot and die.

Dormant mountain roses. Picture: s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com

Spring and autumn is the growing season for mountain roses. If you slowly give some water, they will be awakened. At this time, the tightly wrapped leaves slowly unfold from the outside, and the pink and tender color will fade into the shape of a big cabbage. Many meat lovers will feel that they are not so cute and become very disgusted, but this is a normal growth phenomenon of other people, so there is no need to be too harsh, just treat it with a normal mind.

Mountain roses during the growing period. Picture: jardinexotiqueroscoff.com

Does flowering mean death?

Because mountain roses themselves look like flowers, many people ignore their real blooming posture. Mountain roses are perennial succulent plants. When they grow to about 3-4 years old, they pull huge flowers and arrows from their small bodies. Their flowers are bright yellow, the calyx is finely toothed, and their slender petals are oblanceolate, spreading densely around the disk, like jellyfish hanging upside down, and the whole inflorescence is spectacular.

However, flowering consumes a lot of nutrients, and the mother slowly apoptosis after flowering, so there is a saying that the sow plant dies after flowering.

Feel the vastness of flowers and arrows. Picture: worldofsucculents.com

But don't worry too much, mountain roses have their own ways to continue the population. In addition to bearing a large number of seeds, mountain roses will also grow an indefinite number of lateral buds before flowering, forming a group state. For lotus palms, it is not impossible to propagate with leaves, but the success rate is very low. Therefore, the most common and efficient way of vegetative reproduction of mountain roses is lateral bud decapitation.

In groups, it is most effective to propagate mountain roses with lateral buds. Picture: wiki

How many kinds of mountain roses are there?

At present, according to the mainstream view, mountain roses have been found and identified as four species, and most of the common species on the market are their varieties and varieties. Let's meet ~

The most common is A. aureum, the commodity circulation is called "Canary Huangjinshan Rose", and in Japan it is called "Jade Toona". The word "golden leaf" means "golden leaf". The leaves are broad and Obovate, the leaves in the growing period are bluish gray, and the leaves that are out of state will be yellow. The species is of medium size, with leaves up to 20~30cm in diameter and widely distributed. They can be found in the mountains of 400-2000m above sea level on the islands of Grand Canary, Tenerife, Gomera, La Palma and Yero.

"Golden Leaf" A. aureum. Picture: ucculents.jp

A. diplocycla, a species that does not have a Chinese name in circulation, is often called "large mountain roses" because they have larger leaves and bodies than other species, which can cover their faces. Except for its size, the appearance and characteristics of this species are similar to those of the Golden Mountain, except that the former has only 1924 petals, while the latter has as many as 32 petals.

There is a variety A. diplocyclavar.gigantean, the product name is "Egg Rose", and the variety name gigantean means "huge". They are wrapped like a huge egg in summer, up to 40cm high, and can be separated from other mountain areas at a glance. Large mountain roses are distributed on slopes of 50m to 1700m above sea level in Gomera, La Palma and Yero.

A. Diplocycla with a small number of petals but huge. For the source of the picture, see Watermark.

A. dodrentalis, which has no Chinese name yet, is only distributed on the island of Tenerife. Recently, due to frequent human activities, resulting in habitat destruction and excessive mining, their number has been in jeopardy. This species is a small species with 3~6cm leaves, but it is particularly easy to produce lateral buds and form spectacular large groups, which is simply a professional household. It is said that the common mountain rose variety "Jade Ball" in China is this kind of horticultural variety.

It is very easy to live in large groups of A. dodrentalis. Picture: Flickr

There is also a kind of mountain rose A. aizoon, which is the least like mountain rose, which is called "Green Jade Cup" in Japan. It is a small species, and its leaves are generally only 3~5cm in diameter. Leaf blade densely tomentose, narrow and long, spoon-shaped, dense into a rosette. During the growing season, their leaves are almost disk-shaped and look like the proper shape of the genus Liriodendron. The green jade cup is almost the rarest mountain rose, distributed only on the rock face of Tenerife Island from 600 to 1600 meters above sea level.

Introduced here, is not very tempted to go into the pit to raise a pot? Don't worry, it's summer, and it's hard to raise mountain roses. Listen to the succulent doctor's tips before you start!

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Crassulaceae takes root on the ground