Gasteria bicolor

Common Names

Lawyer's Tongue, Dwarf Ox Tongue

Summary

An evergreen succulent native to the Eastern Cape of South Africa, this slow-growing, long-lived plant forms tall, base-branching leafy stems up to 50 cm tall rather than rosettes, leaves are smooth, shiny dark green with cream spots, 7–25 cm long and about 2.5 cm wide, arranged distichously or spirally, with possible keel and reddening under stress, it carries a very tall inflorescence up to 150 cm with small pendulous tubular flowers that are bicolored reddish-pink and green, and flowering can occur any time, peaking in midwinter to spring, varieties include fallax and liliputana, and the plant is widely grown as an ornamental in gardens, rockeries, and containers, in cultivation it tolerates light shade to partial sun and requires very porous, well-drained soil, water in summer but keep soil dry in winter, with winter watering only when completely dry, hardiness reaches about -1°C or lower (zones 9b–11b), propagation is by offsets or leaf cuttings (rooting in 1–2 months) or by seeds sown in summer, uses include indoor/outdoor ornament, rockeries, and containers, and it can be grown as a drought-tolerant landscape plant, leaves may redden with sun exposure and overwatering should be avoided to prevent root damage

Lifecycle

Perennial

Height

1.5–2.5 feet

Spread

6-12 inches

Hardiness Zones

Zones 10-12

Sunlight Requirements

Ideally partial shade; tolerates full sun, partial sun, partial shade, and full shade.

Soil Type

Well-draining, very porous, gritty cactus/succulent mix with about 20% coarse sand

Soil Drainage

Very well-draining, porous soil (cactus/succulent mix) with no standing water.

Bloom Color

Pink

Bloom Time

Winter to Spring

Foliage Color

Dark green

Fall Foliage Color

Red

Leaf Lifecycle

Evergreen broadleaf

Growth Rate

Slow growing.

Seasons of Interest

Spring, Summer, Winter

Propagation Methods

Seeds, Leaf cuttings, Stem cuttings, Division (offsets/offshoots)

Attracts Wildlife

Attracts birds