Crassula rubricaulis ‘Candy Cane’ | Red-stemmed Crassula
€7,95
🌱 Morphology
'Candy Cane' Crassula. A compact and highly branched cultivar of Crassula rubricaulis, with stems that acquire reddish tones and may become lignified with age. It forms a small, rounded shrub, approximately 20–30 cm in height, with especially abundant branching.
The leaves are opposite and decussate, thick and fleshy, narrowly ovate, about 10–35 mm long and 5–13 mm wide in the species. In ‘Candy Cane’, they exhibit a characteristic stable tricolor variegation: white and mint green predominate, with margins that take on pink-magenta tones, especially under intense lighting. The stems and petioles can show a marked reddish coloration.
The most unique feature of the cultivar is that this variegation does not come from a cross-breeding: ‘Candy Cane’ appeared as a spontaneous branch mutation of C. rubricaulis in a commercial nursery in California in December 2012. Its vegetative propagation has kept the variegated character stable.
🌍 Distribution, habitat, and family
‘Candy Cane’ is a horticultural cultivar, so it has no natural distribution of its own. Its parent species, Crassula rubricaulis Eckl. & Zeyh., is endemic to South Africa and belongs to the Crassulaceae family.
The species is distributed from the coastal mountains near Port Elizabeth, through Knysna, to the Langeberg and Riviersonderend mountains, growing primarily on rocky outcrops and among fynbos vegetation.
❄️ Temperature — USDA Zone 10a–11b
This is a succulent from the South African Mediterranean climate that is sensitive to heavy frost. For ‘Candy Cane’, it is recommended to maintain temperatures above 0 °C, although it can withstand brief drops close to −3 °C in dry and protected conditions. The most conservative commercial classification places the cultivar in USDA 10a–11b.
☀️ Lighting
It requires high light to maintain compact growth and develop the characteristic pink-magenta coloration of the variegation. It adapts to gradual direct sun or very bright semi-shade; during periods of maximum summer insolation, it is advisable to avoid sudden changes from protected conditions.
Indicative DLI PAR: 15–25 mol·m⁻²·day⁻¹. Light intensity also has an important aesthetic function: in low light, the leaves remain greener and the reddish coloration decreases considerably.
💧 Growth cycle and watering
The cultivar retains the general pattern of Crassula rubricaulis, a species originating from the coastal mountains of the Eastern and Western Cape. It is not recommended to consider it a plant with absolute summer dormancy: there is growth and flowering from summer to autumn, while local conditions may modify the duration of activity.
During active growth, it is recommended to perform abundant waterings and allow the substrate to dry completely before watering again. In periods of extreme heat, it may temporarily reduce its activity and it will be necessary to space out the waterings. In winter, with low temperatures and less radiation, water supply should be clearly reduced.
🌸 Flowering
It produces numerous terminal, rounded, and branched inflorescences, supported by stems that can have reddish tones. The flowers are small, about 5 mm, with white petals that can acquire reddish tones with age; the calyces and floral stems are usually reddish.
In C. rubricaulis, natural flowering in Spain is approximately around July–November, depending on temperature, radiation, and management.
🌿 Nutrition
During active growth, Desert CHOICE® Succulents is recommended, applied after watering and with the substrate previously moistened. Before flowering, it can be supplemented with Desert CHOICE® Flowering.
This is an inimitable xerophyte grown in Madrid in a high-tech square pot with the substrate activated with mycorrhizal fungi.
9x9 cm pots
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