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Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Donkey's Tail - Sedum morganianum


I'm pretty sure this is one of the plants that hates you when it comes to touching. It punish you as it snaps its succulent leaf from the main branch. And before you know it - all is left is a twig which slowly dries up and that is the end of this donkey's tail plant.

I read few website profiles on these and all they give you is simple basic information that you can certainly go wrong and a high chance of killing it. (killing me softly) The word hardy is a mis-interpretation.
Many of my garden friends had tough time handling this one & in most cases they just "drop off" and die.


So what is the trick here? How to keep them successful?
These are my tips:

1) When first purchased from the nursery - check the soil.

If the soil medium contains coconut husk or the medium is mushy - change the soil mix.
I would suggest use more sand (2/3 portion) and black soil mix (1/3 portion)
The most important thing you must handle is that it must have a good drainage soil.
(water which gets stagnant in the pot tend create root rot - often its too late to detect as the plant is holding on until the rot is visible)



2) Hang/Place the plant where there is less or no movement and doesn't get knocked down.

Any slight accident can lose/drop the existing succulent leaves.
And I propose the best one:
KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN
(My friend's plant died when his 7-year old daughter joyfully snapped all the leaves)


3) Watering - water it sparingly until the plant establish itself.
My best tip is plant another hardy succulent plant together that takes up most of the moisture and water out of the plant (Mother of Thousand) as it would recreate a tight fitted area for the roots to hold on the soil.

4) Once the plant establishes - Do not repot.
Just leave it as it is. I had made a mistake of repotting and found the most of the fronds didn't survive and I have to start all over again with a small stubble. 

5) Propagation.
So if you need to propagate - trim off from the long existing fronds.
Cut it about 3-4 inches long - remove half of the leaf succulents and leave it to dry for a day or two.
(The wound needs to dry up before placing it into the soil - planting it too soon can cause branch rot
and you might just loose that piece of frond)
- Again : Water sparingly.
It would be good to water it only when the soil had totally dries up.
If you find the soil is wet - then don't water.

6) This plant is very slow to grow - but once it starts growing.
Its really a beauty to behold.

7) WARNING - Same name for 2 different plants.
"Donkey tail" is a common name given to 2 very different plants.
The one in the picture is known as Sedum Morganianum - its a succulent (just like Mother of Thousand & Aloe Vera)
The other is Euphobia myrsinites - this one is poisonous.
Infact most Euphobia species are poisonous. So do get to know your plant before you purchase them.

I was very much thinking of having this plant in my garden when I noticed this particular one planted on a hanging pot. It has a pendant-like rossette which is quite beautiful.
After reading the detail and the testimonies of all the gardeners who suffered dearly with burns and near blindness (I definitely skipping having this poisonous plant)

Read more about the poisonous plant (Euphobia myrsinites)
click below for identification & more information:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/781/


Let me know your experience and thoughts about this plant in your garden.








14 comments:

Ami said...

Very beautiful plant! Although I don't have it, but good to know the growing tips since I really love it, and maybe someday to get it if I can find it here.

Stephanie said...

Thanks for the tips! This sedum will definitely make a good addition to my existing succulents. Can't wait to grow one myself. Happy gardening James.

Andrea said...

Hi James, i have not been opening blogs or posting for the past two weeks, and i truly miss posting. Maybe i am already loosing my readers. Anyway, i have that plant in the past, but we discarded them because every leaf sprouts and become plants, sort of getting invasive. But it really is lovely when the stems are growing at different lenghts. I love them when they have at least 2in differences in length.

africanaussie said...

What a pretty plant, but it does sound like a lot of trouble. It reminds me of a tassel fern, which my neighbor has. I just found you through a comment you made on John and Jacj's blog. My climate is very similar here in tropical north Australia. I went for a holiday in Malaysia and Borneo in January this year - beautiful country.

Stephanie said...

James, with regards to your hoya cutting, root it using the same method as you have mentioned here for this sedum. And your warning 'to water sparingly' is applicable as well. Good luck :=)

painted princess collection said...

OH james so it is called Donkeys tail is it? so many plants we come across and do not know their names by visiting your blog I can keep updated myself with its name and its growing technics. Please visit mine too and suggest some tips to improve my plant mural it is looking very plain
would be happy if you could suggest some tips
My sincere thanks in advance
anandhirajan
http://www.anandhirajansartsncrafts.blogspot.com

painted princess collection said...

wow thankyou james for your lovely suggestions. I never expected thanks a lot for visiting my blog and giving wonderful suggestions. I will follow it. Yes you are right the cascading was really looking nice but the sea shells are not visible. I will try another piece for sure
thanks once again.

Debra June Hojnacki said...

Hi,

I have this plant "Donkey Tail" and it is in a pot on my front step, just under my car port. It is growing long.... Unfortunately, every time I move it, I lose the lovely leaves..... It is long and slender... I'm wondering if I move it out in the sunshine more, maybe it will get thicker. Or I could just maybe cut the long tails off shorter, and that might grow thicker..... I water about once a week, as I live in Sunny*wet season now though* Florida.
Debbie from Florida.

Debra June Hojnacki said...

Hi,

I have this plant "Donkey Tail" and it is in a pot on my front step, just under my car port. It is growing long.... Unfortunately, every time I move it, I lose the lovely leaves..... It is long and slender... I'm wondering if I move it out in the sunshine more, maybe it will get thicker. Or I could just maybe cut the long tails off shorter, and that might grow thicker..... I water about once a week, as I live in Sunny*wet season now though* Florida.
Debbie from Florida.

te amo said...

I was wondering if you ever found little teeny tiny spider webs that grew within the fronds of the donkey ? how would you suggest keeping bugs away?

James David said...

ohh..
I think you got these spider mites?
Do check it out in google and find out if they are spide mites.

Spider mites do not die easily like the rest of the bugs.
Soo.. you may have to get some chemical pesticide on them.
Too much water can deter them but it will also kill the plant.

Fun Ivy said...

Thank you James.

As always you are my walking plant dictionary.
Never knew to grow them by plucking off the leaves. The part on drying out the leaves before planting is helpful. Mine are almost gone and I want to hold on to them as long as I could. Also planting with the Mother of Thousand make so much sense :)

Thanks for saving the day :)

James David said...

Nice to know that I'm your walking plant dictionary.
Hahahahahaahhaaaaaa...

Growing them from leaves can be super slow but it workable.
Keep them in bright shade place - water them like once a month and you will see roots coming out from the leaf tips.
Good luck!

Anonymous said...

I need some help with my donkey tail plant! I noticed that there haven't been any recent posts though. Are you available to help?

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My Malaysian Tropical Garden mainly focused on unique and colorful plants ranging from rare to common plants all around the tropical belt across the world. Ideal for inspiration for challenging areas in the garden space - indoor gardening, balcony gardening and small green spaces especially for ariods, bromeliads, begonias, edibles, cascading & vertical garden plants, succulents & cacti, orchids, together with both shade and sun loving plants.

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