Laura Zinkan cultivates a gardening site at http://www.theGardenPages.com with plant profiles and growing tips on cactus, succulents and California native plants. Drop by to smell the flowers. Or visit the gardening blog at http://thegardenpages.blogspot.com for up-to-date seasonal information.
Rosary Plants are unique and interesting little succulent plants. Crassula rupestris is also called Baby Necklace or Tom Thumb. The leaves are just barely 1/4” long and shaped like slightly elongated triangles. The are arranged neatly along the stem giving it the appearance of beads on a string or a stack of buttons. Although much smaller, crassula rupestris looks similar to Chinese Pagoda (crassula perforata). They grow close to the ground and slowly form mounds from 6 to 10 inches high. In hanging baskets they drip over the sides like a vine with the tips pointing up. The base of their stems take on a stiffer feel with withered brown leaves and woody look as they age.
Rosary Plants are perfect for a windowsill or the patio table where you can admire their unique charm. They are great to mix and match with other succulents or cacti with similar growing requirements. Use them to fill in the bare spots in your containers or rock gardens. Try trailing Baby Necklace with Aloe Vera or an upright crassula like Jade Plant (crassula ovata).
Crassula rupestris gets pale pink clusters of tiny flowers with 5 petals from early spring through summer. The attractive blossoms form on the ends of the stems and seem large in proportion to the tiny plant.
Rosary Vine is a drought tolerant plant suited to dry landscapes. They take monthly watering in my hot southern California garden. If you are growing them in direct sun, they may appreciate a bit more water during the heat of summer.
All succulent plants are sensitive to cold weather. Outdoors these plants will need overhead protection from frost and should be brought indoors or covered if temperatures drop below freezing.
Older Rosary Plants can start to look leggy and bare at the bottom of their stems. This is the perfect time to trim them and create more plants. Propagation of crassula rupestris is easiest by rooting their stem cuttings. Bury the woody part of the branch in the soil and keep them slightly moist for the first few weeks. My cuttings seem to need a few years to get growing before they begin flowering. Seeds from crassula rupestris are very tiny and are carried by the wind like powder.
Thanks to their slow growing habit and small size Rosary Plants work well in dish gardens or succulent plant wreaths. It is easy to become enchanted by Baby Necklace no matter where you grow them or by what name you call them.
Drop by http://www.theGardenPages.com for more flowering succulent plants and photos. Good luck and happy gardening!
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