This plant has grown (gardener pun intended) to be my favorite succulent in my garden. I have really enjoyed propagating these over the years and have found them to be an amazing ground cover. They are a very hearty plant and easy to maintain. But more importantly they are beautiful.
They can survive a lot of heat and a lot of cold. Although I haven’t grown them in snowy conditions, they’ve survived the low 30’s with no problems. If you place a light blanket or garden covering over the plants in weather below 32 degrees your plants will be fine. Just search “Freeze blankets for plants” in your favorite search engine and you’ll find many varieties for sale.
As for the heat, they love to sit in the direct late afternoon sun, but will need weekly watering during high heat. Water either early in the morning, before they are in direct sunlight, or in the evening once the sun is down.
Most importantly for this topic, they are so easy to propagate! Left to grow on their own in the ground, they will continue to propagate, and keep spreading out as far as the ground allows. You can place them in pots, but they will try and grow out of the pot and onto the ground! I think they just don’t want to be in that pot!! You will see what I mean in a picture below. There is a really pretty picture of a single flower hanging out of it’s pot.
One fun fact about this succulent is that you don’t need to dig a hole to plant it! You can take a piece, lay it on some dirt and care of it like your other plants. Over time it will root into the ground and grow and grow and grow.
You will love the ever-changing colors and beauty of the plant throughout the year. Each season gives it a new look. Once they are planted, the only work needed is watering, weeding and cutting back the growth if it spreads to areas you don’t want it. Make sure to replant, replace and/or share any of the cut-back plants!
Here is a fun project for kids that will teach them about plant propagation.
Grab a handful of leaves or a flower or two from your garden clippings. Carefully pick the individual “leaves” off of flowers at the base of the leaf, then place them out around your propagation dish.
Spray gently with a spray bottle or hose, they also love the rain!
Over time you will see roots at the base of the pedals that are going to become small plants
Here’s an example of what will happen if these babies get too much sun, they will die
Here is another day of propagation for this plant, trimming back the groundcover so it is behind the stone border, you’ll see how many babies were underneath the plant as I trimmed pieces off:
These trimmings and babies will go into a propagation pot, and then transferred to other parts of my garden, to friends in gifts and as trimmings to use in their garden. I love to share my plants with friends and family!
Look at the babies growing at the base of the long-stemmed older flowers as they grow. Propagation at its easiest!!
This plant puts out the most beautiful yellow flowers in the early summer months
Here you can see the blooms just starting
