Crassula Propagation
Crassula plants are generally propagated from leaf- or stem-cuttings, or by dividing the basis clumps. Starting new plants is as easy as sticking the top of a leaf or stem cutting during a dryish potting mix, keeping it slightly moist, and expecting roots to sprout.
Varieties of Crassula
There are numerous species and cultivars of Crassula to settle on from that you simply may become a collector. additionally to the quality jade plant cultivars (Crassula ovata), Here are a couple of others which may catch your eye:
Crassula ‘Morgan’s Beauty’: This hybrid cultivar has silver leaves dusted in white, with pretty pink late spring flowers. It grows about 8 inches wide.
Crassula Ursula ‘Campfire’: This variety has long branching leaves that turn blazing red in winter. it’s a clumping plant that grows about 1 foot tall and spreads 3 feet wide.
Crassula pellucida: This plant exhibits a flowing mass of heart-shaped leaves variegated pink, green, and creamy yellow. it’s nice during a hanging pot.
Crassula perforata: referred to as the stacked Crassula, this plant has leaves that revolve around a central stem, giving it the common name, ‘String of Buttons’.
Read also
How to Grow Crassula Plants
Depending on your climate, Crassula plants are often either garden plants or indoor potted specimens. Outdoors, most species of Crassula like medium moisture, well-draining soil; they’re going to react badly to boggy, wet soils. Indoor potted plants thrive during a loamy, well-draining potting mix.
Given their low tide needs, jades and other Crassula species are ideal for people that tend to neglect their plants. they’re very hard to kill and really easy to propagate from cuttings. Even one leaf that falls from the plant will often settle in potting mix.
Crassula is often sensitive to temperature. Too hot and that they will go dormant and drop their lower leaves. Too cold and that they will simply pout, not doing much of anything. aside from that, they laugh away both neglect and abuse.
Stacked Crassula (C. perforata) sends out suckers, which is basically only a drag when grown within the ground. However, they’re slow growers and may be controlled with little effort. With all species, you’ll aggressively cut the plants back whenever they get straggly or leggy.
Aphids, spider mites, mealybugs, and other common indoor pests can affect Crassula plants; these are best treated with non-chemical means, like horticultural oils.
Crassula Lightening Requirement
Most Crassula plants need some shade within the hottest a part of summer, but require bright light to achieve their most vibrant colour. When grown outdoors, a site with morning sun and afternoon shade are ideal. Placed fully sun, the leaves can scald, though it won’t kill the plant. When grown indoors, place Crassula plants during a spot that receives bright indirect light all day, or direct sun for a couple of hours of the day.
Crassula Soil Requirement
Crassula plants need soil that’s very well-draining, and that they will do fine in sandy, rocky soils. they like a neutral to slightly acidic soil, but even extreme pH levels rarely kill the plant.
How to Water Crassula
These are succulent plants associated with the stonecrops, and that they prefer sparse watering, with the soil drying out completely before being watered again. During cooler months, give them an honest drenching then allow the soil to dry out before watering again.
Crassula plants go dormant when the temperature gets hot in summer and wish even less water. When grown indoors, watering should be minimized from late fall flat winter, because the plants go semi-dormant during this point.
Temperature and Humidity
Crassulas are often grown outdoors as perennials in zones 9 through 12, but elsewhere you’ll get to bring them certainly the winter or grow them as houseplants. Some species will tolerate a light frost, but temperatures below 30 degrees Fahrenheit could also be enough to kill them off.
Jades and other Crassula species prefer low humidity, but they also survive nicely in very humid climates.
Crassula Fertilizer
Feed this plant sparingly. you’ll give your plants a touch organic in mid-spring, as they begin actively growing, but further feeding isn’t necessary.
Crassula Potting and Repotting
When grown as indoor plants, Crassula plants prefer a porous, somewhat dry potting mix, but one that also has some organic material in it. A cactus/ succulent mix with some extra sphagnum mixed in is right.
Make sure the pot has good drainage, as these plants do not like to possess soggy roots. Pot them up to a bigger container when the plants become very overgrown—every 2 to three years when the plants are young, then every 4 to five years for mature plants.