XGasteraloe 'Green Ice'
xGasteraloe 'Green Ice is a popular intergeneric hybrid cultivar in the genus xGasteraloe — crosses between Gasteria and Aloe. It is prized as a tough, forgiving houseplant, forming a low rosette of broad, pale silvery-green leaves heavily flecked with white and edged with fine, whitish teeth.
Because it is a cultivar, its care follows that of the parent genus; see xGasteraloe for full details.
Description
'Green Ice' makes a compact, gently spreading rosette of thick, succulent leaves. The leaves are broad and tongue-shaped, tapering to a soft point, in a frosty pale green overlaid with dense white speckling and banding that gives the plant its cool, icy look. The leaf margins carry a row of fine, soft, whitish teeth rather than the hard spines of some aloes, and the surface has a slightly rough, sandpapery texture typical of Gasteria influence.
Like other xGasteraloe hybrids it stays modest in size and offsets freely from the base, in time building up a small clump. Mature plants may send up slender flower spikes bearing tubular, coral-to-orange blooms that hint at the plant's dual parentage.
Cultivation
Cultivation is as for the parent genus; see xGasteraloe. In short, 'Green Ice' is one of the more shade-tolerant succulents, happy in bright, indirect light indoors and grateful for some protection from harsh direct sun, which can scorch or bleach the leaves. Grow it in a free-draining, mostly mineral mix and water only once the soil has dried out, easing off in winter. See Watering and Repotting for general technique.
Its durability and tolerance of lower light are exactly what make it such a reliable houseplant — it forgives the occasional missed or extra watering far better than most cacti. As with many pale, densely flecked cultivars, keeping it in good (but not scorching) light helps preserve the tight rosette and frosty colouring; too little light causes the plant to stretch and pale.
Propagation
'Green Ice' is easily increased from the offsets it produces around the base: detach a well-rooted pup, let any cut surface callus, and pot it into the same gritty mix. Leaf cuttings can also work, drawing on the Gasteria side of the cross, though offsets are quicker and more reliable. Being a named clone, it is propagated vegetatively so that each plant stays true to type. See Propagation — offsets and Propagation — cuttings.
See also
- xGasteraloe — the hybrid genus overview
- Soil and potting mix · Watering · Propagation — offsets · Propagation — cuttings · Repotting