Sedum Rubrotinctum (Jelly Bean Plant)

almost 4 years ago

One Plant Becomes Many...

Sedum rubrotinctum, cuttings

This little ol' Sedum rubrotinctum (or Sedum × rubrotinctum) is commonly known as jelly-beans, jelly bean plant, or pork and beans. It is a type of Sedum, from the plant family Crassulaceae and originates in Mexico.

This particular plant, the one growing in my garden, is one that holds the very special title of 'my oldest surviving plant'. If I remember rightly, I bought it as a tiny little plant housed in its own pot and there it thrived for many years.

Jelly Bean Plant, leaf propagation

When I first moved to my current residence, I remember the plant was struggling and really needed to be repotted. The only problem was, at the time I didn't have any potting mix nor did I have a planter available for repotting.

The next best thing, I decided, was to dig a hole in the garden (at the base of a tree to give it a little protection) and hastily replant my little survivor... to be honest, I was hoping for the best but I was really expecting the worst; I honestly just crossed my fingers and left it up to fate.

Baby sedum

Whenever I thought about the plant, I'd make sure to give it a good water and over the years, it has died back each winter and still struggles with the cold and frost but every spring, much to my surprise, it sprouts back to life with fresh new growth.

I've also transplanted some cuttings into a rockery in my front garden and this plant has thrived so it obviously loves the position it's in. After summer, I noticed it had lots of new growth and there were many, many florets that had grown very elongated stems but looked like they were trying to escape 'the pack' and spread.

The Newest Recruits for my Alien Army - XD

So, I decided to give them a helping hand by taking cuttings of those florets and using the leaves for some leaf propagation and I also kept several florets to plant in dirt for some stem cuttings, giving them all the opportunity to live on and grow another day...

Hopefully by next spring/summer, these little guys will be not so little and ready to plant out into their own pots.

Until next time... xxx