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Family:
Crassulaceae
Scientific Name:
Echeveria
coccinea forma cristata
Scientific name: Sedum
pachyphyllum Rose
In: Contr. US Nat. Herb. 13: 299. 1911, Plate VIII,
text figs. 60 — 69
Forma cristata
Common English Names include:
Stonecrop, Succulent Beans, Silver Jelly Beans, Blue Jelly Bean,
Succulents Water Plant, Many Fingers,
Origin:
Garden origin (Nursery
produced cultivar) The
standard species comes from Mexico (Sierra Mixta, San Luis and
Oaxaca)
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Description (standard form): S. pachyphyllum is a small bush forming or ground-hugging
succulent up to 30 cm talll, with light green silvery leaves mass along
short stems. It spreads over time by rooting stems and fallen leaves
that easily take root to form a dense ground cover. It may become very
straggly with age. Young plants may be quite compact and will flower,
when they are quite small.
Stems: Woody at base, much branched, upright at first, but later curved
and trailing. Up to 50 cm long, but usually less and are bare in the
lower half. In time of drought the stems carry only a small terminal
cluster of leaves.
Leaves: Short, thick, finger-like to club shaped upward curved. They are
grey or light green with a glaucous-bluish bloom. Leaf tips usually turn
red in winter when kept dry or in sun.
Flowers: Yellow, with small pure
yellow petals. Sepals are free, spurred, club-shaped, and very uneven.
Stamens are long and carpel beaks are short and stout.
Blooming season: Flowers appear in the summer.
Crested form: The rare crested form
produces magnificent, fun shaped glaucous-blue leaf rosettes and may assumes
many fascinating shapes.
NOTE: Several different forms and cultivars of S.
pachyphyllum are common in cultivation, one of
the prettiest of them has yellow-green leaves that cluster densely at stem
apex with noticeably redder leaf tips. Another form is stouter with more
blue-glaucous leaves with only an hint of red on their tips or none at
all. Sedeveria humbellii is a very common cross bettween
S. pachyphyllum and Echeveria derenbergii, but not usually named.
Another very common hybrid created in California involves S. morganianum and
S. pachyphyllum
and is commonly called Sedum burrito or "Giant Burro's
Tail".
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Cultivation: Sedums are
easily grown succulents that can tolerate sun, shade, moist soils, dry
soils, but look their best only when given adequate light levels and
water, and ideally should be grown outdoors in full sun. Generally
speaking, the more light a plant gets the better it will display its
colours and shape. Bright light is required to prevent "stretching" of
Sedums ("stretching" occurs when a moderately fast growing plant
such as an Echeveria, is grown in dim light or over-fertilized, which
causes overly lush growth that contributes to weak, pallid plants).
However, when moving plants from lower light conditions into full sun,
be wary of sun scorch resulting from too rapid a transition into intense
summer sunlight, most easily avoided by ensuring plants are well-watered
before moving them on a cloudy day. Sedums are able to tolerate
extended dry periods and survive drought without the need for watering,
but they will grow stronger if they receive adequate moisture during
their growing season, but never allowing the plant to remain waterlogged
(root rot sensitive). For this reason, it is essential in cultivation to
use a very porous soil, which will allow quick drainage. Avoid overhead
watering under humid conditions, especially during winter. Echeveria are
shallow rooted plants, and therefore benefit from good levels of organic
matter in the soil. Give it enough root space for optimum growth. Slow
release fertilisers with a low to moderate nitrogen content incorporated
into the potting mix are usually adequate for the spring and summer
growing seasons of Sedums, and additional fertiliser applications
would not normally be required until spring. Good air movement is
important for minimising pest and disease risks, and avoiding excessive
humidity in cool winter conditions is important to successfully growing
Sedums in the nursery environment. Can tolerate light frosts.
however, the ideal temperature range during the summer growing season is
5-25°C, with the cooler autumn temperatures tending to make their
foliage colours become more intense than those of the active summer
growing season. Aphids like this plant (and all flowering sedums).
Propagation: It is easily propagated by cuttings in the spring.
When the stem becomes too tall, just cut the top
rosette with a piece of stem and plant it. It will soon take root, while
the plant left with just the stem will soon grow new buds that can be in
turn used for propagation. Time to take cuttings: April to July. It may
also propagated by
leaf propagation. If the plant is
repotted some of the bottom
leaves can be removed, in order to attempt propagation..
However some of the
cuttings will dry out without producing a
plantlet.
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Cultivation
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