Pachyphytum Oviferum or moonstone plant is an endemic plant in Mexico. I am sure It could be one great addition to your greenery collection.
Just like the many of the other succulents, you could easily maintain the moonstone succulents.
If you wish to add one of these plants , you only need to supply it with sufficient moisture , the right amount of light, and the most appropriate soil mix.
How do I identify Pachyphytum Oviferum
This plant can rise to 4 inches in height and could be 12 inches wide as well. Their stems will be white. Further it will contain about 15 leaves.
The leaves are egg shaped, fleshy and thick and would have various colors. You could spot them in blue-purple or in blue-green colors.
This formation looks like an almond and hence why they have inherited this name.
The blooming usually takes place in the earlier stage of spring. The colors of the flower petals would be red and orange colors. Flower sepals will also carry the same colors as the leaves of this plant.
Onelook care guide
| Botanical Name | Pachyphytum Oviferum |
| Common Name | Moonstone plant |
| Plant Type | Succulent |
| Mature Size | 4 inches high 12 inches wide |
| Sun Exposure | Full sunlight to partial sunlight |
| Soil Type | Well draining / sandy |
| Soil pH | Neutral |
| Bloom Time | Spring |
| Flower Color | Red-orange |
| Hardiness Zones | Zones 10a to 11b. |
| Native Area | Mexico |
| Toxicity | Non toxic |
| Average price | 12 USD |
How do you take care of Pachyphytum Oviferum?
Light Requirement
These plants can withstand both full sunlight as well as the partial sunlight.
Consider you are growing a Pachyphytum Oviferum plant in an area where the sunlight is very harsh and very hot, then you have to take necessary action to shield the plant from the harsh sunlight particularly in the afternoon hours.
A bright sunny location in your garden would be healthy for the moonstone plants to grow well. When they are grown in a bright sunny post, you can easily fulfill the lighting requirement of the plant.
If you are growing these plants indoors, ensure that you grow them in a bright sunny place. It is better if you can place it closer to a sunny window.
You have to rotate your Pachyphytum Oviferum plant once every few days. That will allow the whole plant to get an adequate amount of sunlight.
If the plant has discolored leaves and a discolored stem you will not get that same elegant look you get from other moonstone plants which get adequate sunlight.
Therefore, if it is not possible for you to provide sufficient sunlight, you could alternatively supply a grow light as they could to those plants.
Temperature and humidity
Pachyphytum Oviferum plants would prefer to grow in USDA hardiness zones 10a to 11b. The regular temperature you get here would be around 30o F to 50o F (-1.1oC – 10o C).
These moonstone plants can thrive in lower temperatures up to 20o F (-6o C). if you expose your plants to any temperatures below it could be fatal for it.
Literally, it is not possible for you to expose these plants to frost. We need to protect our beautiful Pachyphytum Oviferum plants from frost.
You could relocate the outdoors grown plants indoors, whenever you could see a forthcoming freezing temperature.
It is important that you grow these plants in a pot or in a container which could be easily moved in and out from the house.
When it comes to the humidity, moonstone succulent plants would enjoy the drier air conditions. They would usually thrive in average room humidity which is about 40% humidity level.
Is it cold hardy?
This is the kind of a plant which cannot thrive in freezing temperatures. Hence ensure that you safeguard the Pachyphytum Oviferum succulent from such weather conditions.
Hence, you should take necessary actions to protect them. These plants will not withstand temperatures below 20 degrees Fahrenheit.
Hardiness Zone
Pachyphytum Oviferum succulent plants would love to grow in USDA hardiness zones of between 10a to 11b.
Watering Requirement
Watering is very similar to many other succulents. Only thing you need to make sure of is that the soil has to be in dry condition before you water it again .
If you adhere to this simple principle in watering, you will not let the plant suffer from root rot.
If you are not sure whether you need to water your plant or whether you need to wait a little longer, you could simply touch the leaves of the plant and realize whether the plant needs water or not.
If the leaves are firm and fleshy that means they still have water in the plant.
When you do this, ensure that you do it for the bottom leaves. Do not touch the leaves which are in the center and in the top as that could leave marks on your plant and It wont look good on the plant.
Pachyphytum Oviferum plants are a little contradictory with the other plants when it comes to watering during the winter season.
We need to water them more during the winter season. Winter is the moonstone plant’s growing season and hence why they want more water.
Soil Requirement Type / pH
Moonstone plants would not love to be in moist soil. As such, you could let them grow in a soil mix which is draining well and fast.
You could mix a few elements such as sand, perlite pumice into the soil mix to fasten the draining.
If you mix all these three elements and put it in the soil mix, that would be the perfect medium for them to grow. Alternatively, you could provide compost as well.
If you are not that enthusiastic in doing all these, you could simply buy a cactus mix or even a succulent mix and let them grow in those.
Flowering and Fragrance
The blooms of the Pachyphytum Oviferum plants would take place during the winter season to early stage of spring season. The colors of the flowers are red-orange.
They will have sepals which are fleshy and have the same color like the foliage of the plant. They look like a bell in shape.
Pot size Potting and Repotting
You should use a terracotta pot or a clay pot which has an adequate number of drainage holes. It will avoid the menace of over watering and the repercussions of it such as root rot.
If you use these kinds of pots, they could make a healthy environment for these moonstone plants to grow. These material’s porosity allows better air circulation.
In fact, terracotta pots tend to evaporate water faster when the outside environment is hotter. This means we need to water these plants a little bit more on hot days.
In terms of repotting, it is crucial to do so, especially if you have bought the plant from the store recently.
Moreover you could consider repotting your Pachyphytum Oviferum plant if it has overgrown the pot or the container.
When you repot, ensure that you use a new soil mix which is well draining . Furthermore, ensure that you keep the stem in the same depth in the new pot like it used to be in the older pot. It will avoid the stem rot.
Avoid touching the leaves during this process. You should do repotting only in their active growing season which is the winter. Refrain in watering until the plant settles in the new soil mix.
Where to Plant
When you consider a place where you need to plant the moonstone plant, you need to choose a place where it is sunny and gets full sun right throughout the year.
In case you get extreme heated conditions and harsh sunlight, ensure that you protect your plant from those unhealthy conditions.
Further you should take necessary steps to protect them. Ideally you have to select a shady spot for it particularly during afternoon hours.
Fertilizer and time of year
Pachyphytum Oviferum succulent plants do not depend a lot on feeding. You could simply apply fertilizers once a year. Spring is the best time to do it,
Dormancy
These succulents go dormant during the summer season.
Can it be toxic to pets?
These succulents are completely non toxic to your domestic pets as well as to humans.
Having said that, if by any chance your pet has consumed a part of this plant, it may tend to go through gastrointestinal disorders and vomiting.
Common bugs and illness issues
In terms of bugs and illness issues, you have to be especially careful with mealybugs as they are the type of bugs which could commonly harm your Pachyphytum Oviferum plant.
When mealybugs have infected your plant, they could halt the growth of the moonstone plant.
In addition to this, your moonstone succulent could suffer from root rot as well. Over watering could be the major cause for this. As soon as you notice this, cut back in watering and repot them in a new soil mix.
Special Care tips
You do not need to do any pruning for these Pachyphytum Oviferum plants. Further you could go ahead with succulent cuttings, when you have to take off the dead leaves only.
You should take off the dead and the damaged leaves as that will help the plant to protect from rotting.
Avoid contacting the healthy leaves of this plant since chances are that the body oils could leave unusual spots on the plant.
We could grow them either indoors or outdoors. If you have grown them outdoors, make sure that you provide them with sandy soil and it has excellent drainage.
How do you propagate Pachyphytum Oviferum
It is easy to propagate the moonstone plants through leaf cuttings. Firstly, you need to trim a young leaf from the center of the Rosset. Let the cut edge become callous.
It would usually take a day to get it dried. Then place the leaf in a little moist and fast draining potting mix.
Wait for some time until a new rosette develops. When you spot the offset has formed roots, repot the new rosette once it has made sufficient new roots. Do not forget to pluck off the older leaf.
If you wish to have faster results and if you want to speed up this process, you could dip the leaf cutting in a rooting hormone.
Then place it in your soil mix. Furthermore, you could use sand for excellent drainage instead of utilizing the potting medium.
Pachyphytum Oviferum plant benefits
Moonstone plants are aesthetically elegant plants which could be a great display for indoor greenery. They would perfectly fit in containers as well as in pots.
They could be great additions for your outdoor garden as well.
Related questions
Is Pachyphytum Oviferum an indoor plant?
You could grow them as indoor plants. If you consider growing these indoors, ensure that you grow them in a bright sunny place.
It could ideally be closer to a sunny window. You could rotate your moonstone plant once every few days. That will allow the whole plant to get an adequate amount of sunlight.
If the plant has got discoloured leaves and a stem you will not get that same elegant look like you get from other moonstone plants which get adequate sunlight.
Therefore, if it is not possible for you to provide sufficient sunlight, you could alternatively supply a grow light to provide extra light.
Should I mist my Pachyphytum Oviferum?
You could do a light misting to them when you have placed them in cacti mix in a tray.
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