
Crassulas For Your Water-Wise Garden



The many different crassulas can confuse us no end (and probably some of the taxonomists too!). They seem to change their appearance at will in nature or captivity. Let’s rather focus on the main reasons to plant them, because no matter which ones you choose, they will be rewarding.
Crassulas are an incredibly large and diverse genus of succulent plants. There are many species, subspecies, varieties and forms hailing from across South Africa. Although not all are worth growing, some are so interesting and pretty that it’s easy to fall into the trap of collecting as many of them as you can!
Uses in the garden
There is great scope in this wonderful genus for South African gardeners. Among the plethora of crassulas you will find a plant for just about any situation. There are groundcovers that will grow and flower heartily in the poor soil around tree trunks. They will grow in semi-shade and in difficult-to-plant retaining walls.
Then there are other crassulas to use as bright colour accents in gravel gardens. Some are grown as specimen plants in large containers or as tough shrubs. Others are even used as succulent hedges in dry or windy coastal gardens. You can also use some in hanging baskets, in window boxes or as houseplants.
One of the common species used for this purpose is the jade plant (Crassula ovata). This crassula has become a very popular house and container plant across the globe. Crassula ovata is also called the money plant (not to be confused with the money tree hailing from China!). It is traditionally given as a house-warming present to bring fortune and prosperity to the homeowners. This might be a myth, but due to its longevity and toughness it can very well outlive its owner!
Why we should plant them
The main reason why we should plant more crassulas is because of their wonderful metabolism. It allows them to photosynthesise normally without losing much water through their leaves. Instead of opening the stomata on their leaves to take in carbon dioxide for photosynthesis during the day, they do it at night. Therefore they minimise the loss of internal moisture to evaporation. This allows them to survive and thrive in regions that experience regular droughts.
Another reason is that lots of them are gracious enough to propagate themselves vegetatively by rooting everywhere as they spread over the ground.



The gracious ground-covering crassulas
Crassula expansa
This succulent has a delicate appearance, with bright-green, boat-shaped fleshy leaves (in shade). The leaves can sometimes also have distinct red markings (in sun) and is quite vigorous once growing well. It is evergreen and frost hardy. You can use them to fill gaps between stepping stones and rocks or as groundcover in dry, dark shade under trees. It will, however, thrive and flower best in semi-shade. Masses of white star-shaped flowers appear from November to April.
Crassula expansa subsp. fragilis
There is something esoteric about this moss-like crassula. It has dense, fleshy, slightly elliptic or obovate leaves in fresh to pale green. I can in all honesty say that this is one of my favourite plants! The faintly hairy stems are pinkish to maroon, wiry, and so brittle that it makes it difficult to handle this plant. Useful as a dainty groundcover in semi-shade or sunny (but not baking hot) spots between pretty stones or between other succulents. Very cute in wallmounted pots or in hanging baskets as it will cascade over the sides.
Crassula capitella ’Campfire’
‘Campfire’ is a truly magnificent rockery plant or colourful accent plant for a gravel garden. It will set your winter garden alight with its propeller-like leaves. The leaves mature from bright lime-green with red tips to a fiery orange-red the colder it gets. This groundcover will tolerate frost but not hard freezes. It reaches a height of between 15 and 40cm and spreads about 1m, rooting easily from stem nodes. It displays masses of tiny white flowers on tall, stout stems in summer. Add them to small mixed posies of other garden plants. This crassula can also be a very pretty container or hanging basket plant. Good for full sun or semi-shade.
Crassula multicava
A swathe of happy and lush multicavas in full flower from May to September is a heart-warming sight to see. This fast-growing, mat-forming succulent plant produces an outstanding uniform effect. It does well in the semi-shade under trees, and has rightly become a very popular garden plant in the landscaping trade. You can use them to stabilise banks and in the planting holes of cement retaining walls. The leaves are oval, glossy and light to dark green, depending on their position in the garden. The flowers can either be pinkish white or quite a happy shade of pink. Another form known as Crassula multicava ‘Purple’ has a dark shade of purple on the flipside of the leaves. This makes it an attractive ground hugger even when not in flower.



Some gorgeous ‘novelty’ crassulas
Crassula capitella subsp. thyrsiflora
This subspecies of Crassula capitella is commonly called the red pagoda. It would probably be more striking if grown as a specimen plant in a pot as part of a smart succulent collection. This plant branches well and produces several rosettes that are pink-tinged at first. Over time the leaves become pagoda-shaped and turn deep red.
Crassula ovata ‘Lady’s Fingers’
This crassula has a weird growth form that resembles bunches of shiny, fleshy tubes with blunt edges edged in red. The best way you can display this slow-growing succulent is pop it in a pretty clay pot in sun or semi-shade.
Crassula rupestris
This crassula hails from the hottest and driest habitats like the Richtersveld, Tankwa Karoo and Namaqualand. It is called the kebab plant because its ovate and lanceolate leaves look like they were strung on fleshy stems. The beauty of this plant lies in its ability to tint its attractive young greyish leaves into a golden yellow with rusty red markings that are more pronounced in summer – nature’s way of helping them survive the heat! It has tiny flowers are grouped in clusters at the tips of ample side branches from June to September. The flowers range in colour from deep to pale pink. They live long in their natural habitat and will tolerate light frost, but they are very slow growing.
Crassula falcata
This crassula is commonly known as the propeller-plant. It has many flattened pairs of sickle-shaped grey leaves stacked above each other on a thick and fleshy stem. This crassula will produce dense clusters of tiny, scarlet-red flowers in mid-summer, sometimes repeating the show in autumn. It likes light shade to full sun and can reach a height of about 60cm. Water it fairly regularly in summer but keep it on the dry side in winter. This is a beautiful crassula to keep in a pot, in the rockery. It also provides lovely texture accents between grasses like fine-leaved sedges. Don’t be afraid to cut it back now and again to encourage more side branches.



The handy landscaping crassulas
Crassula ovata (kerky bush, jade plant)
This tough shrub can grow up to 1.8m high and resembles a miniature baobab tree, with its dark, thickened stem and rough, fissured side branches. It is very long living and you can virtually leave it to its own devices. Its oval leaves are thick and fleshy with a wax-like sheen, light green in colour, and sometimes thinly edged in red or brown. If kept indoors it will be dark green. It produces a mass of starry, dusky-pink flowers in umbels during the winter months. It is a lovely succulent shrub to plant between big aloes and grasses in a sunny low-water zone. You can also plant it in a large container to grow into a characterful accent plant. The jade plant would also make a lovely bonsai.
Crassula ovata ‘Hummel’s Sunset’ is a variety of the species with fleshy leaves that are richly tinted in shades of green, yellow and red. The colour intensifies spectacularly in winter. This variety definitely needs full sun all day long to keep the pretty foliage colours. Too much shade will cause them to revert to green.
Crassula ovata ‘Crosby’s Compact’ is a generously branched dwarf variety that grows up to 90cm tall. It has thick stems holding lime-green oblong leaves with bright red margins. This crassula bears white flowers in winter.
Both of the Crassula ovata varieties will be perfect to plant as a succulent hedge in a water-wise garden with a formal design.
Tips for caring for the fragile-looking ones
- The general appearance of groundcovering crassulas may deteriorate a bit after a flowering spell. Don’t worry about this as they will soon recover.
- As fragile-looking crassulas tend to break up easily when handled, simply make a shallow scoop in the soil, take the whole plant in your hand, and place it onto the soil. Cover it lightly with some soil to hold it down, water lightly, and it will be A-for-away.
- Use the dainty ones like C. fragilis as fillers in mixed succulent bowls or around a large river pebble for a Zen look in a shallow bowl.
- If your C. multicava plants have become too wild, simply cut them back with a hedge trimmer after flowering.
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