Plant Library

Other Names:  Crassula erosula, Blaze Crassula, Flame Crassula

Description:

A prostrate, spreading variety with attractive, narrow leaves in shades of red and salmon; very drought-tolerant and does well in poor soils; clusters of white flowers rest on the leaves in summer; an excellent choice for containers and rock gardens

Ornamental Features

Campfire Crassula features showy clusters of white star-shaped flowers at the ends of the stems in mid summer. The flowers are excellent for cutting. Its attractive succulent narrow leaves emerge green in spring, turning red in color with showy salmon variegation the rest of the year.

Landscape Attributes

Campfire Crassula is an herbaceous evergreen perennial with a ground-hugging habit of growth. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant. Trim off the flower heads after they fade and die to encourage more blooms late into the season. It is a good choice for attracting bees and butterflies to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Campfire Crassula is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• General Garden Use
• Groundcover
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Campfire Crassula will grow to be about 8 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 3 feet. Its foliage tends to remain low and dense right to the ground. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 15 years. As an evegreen perennial, this plant will typically keep its form and foliage year-round.

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers dry to average moisture levels with very well-drained soil, and will often die in standing water. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for a low-water garden or xeriscape application. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in poor soils, and is able to handle environmental salt. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America, and parts of it are known to be toxic to humans and animals, so care should be exercised in planting it around children and pets. It can be propagated by division; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

Campfire Crassula is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its spreading habit of growth, it is ideally suited for use as a 'spiller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the edges where it can spill gracefully over the pot. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.