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Walnut Creek’s Ruth Bancroft is a national authority on drought-resistant gardening. Twice a month, she and her staff share their knowledge with readers.
Every plant family has something called a “type genus,” the genus from which the family takes its name. For the Stonecrop Family, Crassulaceae, the genus is Crassula. A majority of the species in Crassula are from southern Africa, including all the ones commonly seen in this country. But a few extend as far north as the Arabian Peninsula, and one is even recorded from Iran.
These plants are mostly on the miniature side, and they range from single-headed ones to kinds that make offshoots, form a small clump or spread widely as ground covers. A few kinds have colorful red, pink or yellow flowers, but in most kinds the blossoms are white. The small flowers have five petals but are sometimes create large clusters so the effect is quite showy. One of the best-known species in California is the Jade Tree (Crassula ovata), but it is larger than most plants in the genus.
Quite a few Crassula species have decorative tiny hairs on leaf surfaces or margins; many of them take on red tinges in bright light. Another attractive feature of some species is the way the leaves stack up in neat tiers. One that excels in this quality is Crassula capitella. Widespread in South Africa, it has many forms, some of them distinctive enough to be classified as subspecies. In all cases, the
flowers are small and white.
At the Ruth Bancroft Garden we have a delightful form of Crassula capitella with stacking red-tinged triangular leaves. It spreads to form a clump, making a fine small-scale ground cover. Its flowering season is in the fall, mostly October and November. When not in flower, the stems are only a few inches tall, but when a head comes into bloom, it rises several inches higher, with many clusters of little white flowers arrayed along the stalk When the flowering has finished, the elongated stalks can be pinched back to keep the plant compact, and new heads will sprout.
Like most succulents, C. capitella requires excellent drainage, performing well in rockeries or pockets in rock walls; in a sunny locations, it colors up nicely. It is easy to grow, and cuttings strike root readily.
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