Flow Gasteria

Flow Gasteria (Gasteria 'Flow') is a small, slow, forgiving succulent that suits the spots most plants refuse. It sits at about 20cm tall and 25cm across, with thick tongue shaped leaves stacked in a low fan that store enough water to ride out weeks of neglect. Unlike most succulents it also copes with a bright indoor corner rather than demanding full sun.

Why you'll love it

• Hard to kill. Drought and heat tolerant, and the usual cause of death is kindness with the watering can.
• Handles less light than most succulents. Bright indirect light indoors suits it, where an echeveria would stretch and pale.
• Small enough for anywhere. At 20cm by 25cm it fits a windowsill, a balcony pot or a gap in a rockery.
• Safe around pets. Not toxic to cats or dogs, and the leaf tips are blunt rather than spined.
• Flowers you did not expect. Mature plants lift a slim arching stem of curved pink and orange tubular flowers.

Where it works best

Pots and containers. A shallow pot 120mm to 200mm wide with a drainage hole is ideal. It is happy crowded and only needs repotting every three or four years.

Indoors. A bright bathroom, a desk near a window or a kitchen bench all work, and indoors your climate stops mattering with a plant this frost sensitive.

Rockeries, balconies and courtyards. Outdoors it suits warm temperate, subtropical, Mediterranean and arid gardens, tucked between rocks or at the front of a dry bed.

Growing Flow Gasteria in Australia

Position and climate. Bright indirect light gives the best colour and the tightest form. A few hours of morning sun is fine, but harsh afternoon sun through glass scorches the leaves. Outdoors it handles light frost only, so cool temperate and cold inland gardeners should pot it and bring it under cover for winter.

Soil. A cactus and succulent mix, or standard potting mix opened up with coarse sand. The pot must drain freely. Poor soil is fine; wet soil is what kills it.

Water. Soak it, empty the saucer, then let the mix dry right through before the next drink: roughly every two to three weeks in the warm months and monthly through winter.

Feed and maintenance. A half strength liquid feed twice over spring and summer covers it. Pull shrivelled lower leaves off by hand, and remove offsets from the base if you want one tidy rosette rather than a clump.

What to expect when it arrives

It is sold in a single size, a pack of ten 100mm plants, which suits a run of pots, a rockery pocket or an order split with friends. Each plant is a young rosette of several leaves, ready to go straight into a decorative pot.

Succulents travel well, since the thick leaves hold their own moisture and any minor marks on outer leaves simply grow out. Leave yours somewhere bright and dry for a week before the first water, and expect little visible growth in the first month. Delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Read how to keep your indoor plants alive, which covers the watering mistakes behind most failures.
• Browse the wider succulent range.
• See other pet friendly indoor plants.
• Find companions among rockery plants.

Common questions

How do I know when to water it?

Only once the mix is dry all the way through. Soft, translucent leaves mean too much water rather than too little, so ease off and check the drainage hole.

Can it live indoors permanently?

Yes, and bright indirect light is enough, which is unusual for a succulent. Growth will be slow, and that is normal rather than a problem.

Will it survive outside in winter?

Only where frost is light. In cool temperate and cold inland districts keep it potted and move it under cover before the first frosts arrive.