Calandrinia creethae

Scientific Name

Calandrinia creethae Tratman ex Morrison

Synonyms

Parakeelya creethae

Scientific Classification

Family: Montiaceae
Genus: Calandrinia

Description

Calandrinia creethae is a low-growing or prostrate, annual plant up to 2 inches (5 cm) tall. The leaves are succulent with elongated (often balloon) shape and up to 2.4 inches (6 cm) long,. The foliage can vary in color from bright green to yellow and pink. The flowers appear, in clusters of 10 or more, on long branched stems. They are 6-petaled blooms, up to 0.5 inch (1.2 cm) in diameter, with long stamens and are white or mauve in color. Flowering usually occurs in spring.

Hardiness

It is grown as an annual plant, so it has no USDA hardiness zone.

How to Grow and Care

Calandrinias are very easy to care for as they can tolerate prolonged dry periods. They do not like to much water, especially in the winter. Plants are able to grow as a short lived perennial in warm regions but should be grown as annuals elsewhere. Propagate by taking cuttings or allow plants to self seed in situ.

If you plan to grow outdoors from seed then Calandrinia species should be sown at a depth of 0.1 inch (3 mm) after the last frost of spring. If you prefer to start off Calandrinias as seeds indoors then they should be started off about 8 weeks before they are due to be put out.

They should be grown at a temperature of 55 to 60 °F (13 to 16 °C) and take from 1 to 2 weeks to germinate. The seedlings of Calandrinia should be planted out with a spacing of about 8 inches (20 cm) following the last possible frost of spring into an area that receives plenty of sun and into a gritty or sandy soil… – See more at: How to Grow and Care for Calandrinia

Origin

Calandrinia creethaeis native to Western Australia (Murchison area).

Links

• Back to genus Calandrinia
• Succulentopedia: Browse succulents by Scientific Name, Common Name, Genus, Family, USDA Hardiness Zone, Origin, or cacti by Genus

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