You will probably agree that a donkey’s tail is a challenging plant to grow, especially indoors, if you have one in your collection of succulents. Despite being a member of the hardy sedum family, this succulent is delicate and loses its leaves easily.
This succulent, sometimes known as a burro’s tail, may thrive in sandy soil and morning sunlight. However, in order to give donkey’s tail the greatest care possible, you must be aware of the ideal growing conditions. Here are the perfect circumstances for your burro’s tail to grow.
The speed of a burro’s tail growth
This succulent is one gorgeous sedum. My golden weeping variegated boxwood, which I brought home from Kew Gardens as a little cutting, lives happily in a huge square terra cotta pot with my now 5-year-old Coleus “Dipped In Wine (yes, they’re officially perennials), which is also a perennial.
The fact that these 3 plants grow well together in a container is surprising, but that’s another tale. I’m going to explain how I take care of and spread my Sedum morganianum, also known as a burro’s tail, donkey’s tail, or horse’s tail, in this post.
Wear your burro’s tail as a necklace if you want to be a great conversation starter at gatherings!
It will finally reach a height of 4 inches, which will take about 6 years. With those trailing stems covered in overlapping, luscious, juicy leaves that create a cool braided pattern, it becomes very thick as it grows.
Unsurprisingly, a mature plant becomes very hefty. This plant is not intended for a fragile pot or hanger. The ideal places to plant it are in hanging baskets, big pots like mine, pots that dangle against walls, and pots that trail out of rock gardens.
Does a burro’s tail enjoy the hot sun?
Outdoors: Growing a Burro’s Tail This succulent is one of the coolest plants around and is easy to grow. A little covering of mulch may be needed to protect outside plants from the cold during the winter. Place the burro’s tail in bright sunlight, away from drying and destructive winds.
How frequently do I need to water my burros tail?
- The burro’s tail can withstand drought (those pillow leaves retain water). Limit your watering to once per month. (Be sure to fully soak the soil, then wait until the topsoil is completely dry before watering again.)
- Use potting soil made for cacti and a pot with a drainage hole for your container plant.
- Burro’s tail is a perennial in USDA growth zones 9 to 11, and as it is a native of eastern Mexico and Honduras, it anticipates warm weather all year long in the garden.
Burro’s tail was found by American botanist Eric Walther in Mexico in the 1930s, and he brought it back to California where it has been grown ever since.
Is the tail of a burro toxic?
In the end, it’s a good idea to keep the Burros Tail (and other Sedum) out of the reach of children, pets, and animals even though it isn’t toxic to cats and dogs.
Donkey’s Tail plants are a wonderful option for usage as hanging succulent plants due of their fragile nature and cascading growth pattern.
The heavy, succulent leaves are prone to falling off; if they land in soil, they will germinate and develop.
When growing burro’s tail, it is best to put the plant in a hanging basket and out of harm’s way in order to safeguard it.
When it comes to other Sedum varieties, keeping the plant out of children’s, pets’, and other animals’ reach safeguards indoor plants from potential harm.
Call 911 or the poison control hotline (USA 1-800-222-1222) as soon as you have any suspicions of poisoning.
How Fast Do Donkey Tail Succulents Grow?
If properly cared for, donkey tail succulents can reach maturity in about 6 years and grow up to 4 feet long during that time. They grow slowly and consistently. However, the donkey tail plant typically reaches a length of 24 inches.
Why Is My Donkey Tail Succulent Losing Leaves?
Due to its fragility, leaf loss is the most frequent issue with donkey tail succulents. Because the plant’s beaded leaves are so delicate, handling it needs to be done with extreme care. Therefore, it is preferable to set the plant down and forget about it, and to avoid continuously handling it.
Always water the plant wherever you have it and try to avoid moving or disturbing it frequently. Your donkey tail plant should ideally be placed in a spot where it won’t be disturbed, such a windowsill or hanging pot in a corner. As far as you can, refrain from repotting the succulent, and keep it away from children and pets.
The donkey tail or burro’s tail succulent is a well-liked indoor plant that is extremely common. These magnificent long, trailing, grey-green succulents are simple to grow and care for and can bring elegance to any area of your home.
Donkey tails do they bloom?
Make it flourish. Small pink or red flowers may occasionally sprout at the tips of its stalks in the summer, despite the plant rarely blooming indoors. Spring through September should be the growing season for Donkey’s Tail plants. Blooming will be aided by strong sunlight in the summer and a chilly environment in the winter.
Bring some clarity. Ensure that this evergreen succulent receives a lot of light. It sunburns easily if suddenly exposed to full sun, so if you move it outside during the summer, place it in a shady area.
Give it a break this winter. In the winter, keep Sedum morganianum at a minimum temperature of 55F/13C. During the fall and winter, stop fertilizing, and water your plants just sparingly.
When the plant overflows the pot in the spring, repotter. Because its roots aren’t deep, you can use a small container. Change to a pot that is just one size larger and has drainage holes to avoid overwatering.
Handle carefully. The smallest contact will cause the leaves of this plant to fall off. The best course of action is to plant it in a hanging basket and neglect it other than to provide it with water and fertilizer.
What kind of soil does a burros tail require?
A burro’s tail plant will flourish in dry, sandy soil, just like other succulents do. You can purchase pre-made cactus soil or make your own by combining standard potting soil with an equal amount of sand. Select a container that will aid in wicking moisture away from your plants’ roots.
Why is my succulent donkey tail dying?
The family of stonecrops includes a significant number of species under the genus Sedum (Crassulaceae). A tropical species of sedum known as Sedum morganianum has long been cultivated as an ornamental because of its unusual, evergreen foliage. Due to the pendulous stems’ similarity to an animal’s tail, it goes by numerous common names, including burro’s tail, donkey’s tail (also a traditional name for the hardy perennial Euphorbia myrsinites), horse’s tail, and lamb’s tail. This long-lived sensitive trailing sub-shrub, which is native to southern Mexico and Honduras, is often grown as a houseplant in most of North America because it is hardy only when it is consistently above freezing. It received the 1993 Award of Garden Merit from the Royal Horticultural Society.
The trailing stalks and succulent, blue-green leaves of this delicate perennial plant have a silvery bloom that rubs off when touched. The stems begin by growing straight before slanting downward and lengthening to four feet; due to the water content of the leaves, they can become rather heavy. The lance-shaped, overlapping, smooth-textured leaves develop in a densely whorled, nearly swirling pattern to completely encircle the stem, giving it a braided-like look. The pointy ends of the short, thick, cylindrical leaves swell to become very plump when plants are adequately watered and will shrivel when conditions are too dry. Because the plant’s stems and leaves are fragile, it should be placed in an area where it won’t be accidentally knocked over or harmed by passing humans or animals. Branch formation may occur where the stems are lacking in leaves. ‘Burrito’ or ‘Baby Burro Tail’ has lime-green leaves that are smaller, more rounded, and on shorter stems—it is uncertain if this refers to a different species, a cultivar, or a hybrid.
Although burro’s tail planted indoors rarely blooms, in the summer terminal clusters of 1-6 flowers on slender pedicels may have tiny but stunning pink to crimson blossoms. The tiny, star-shaped flowers feature plump, lighter pink sepals and vivid yellow stamens. They produce a lot of nectar and entice flies and bees with it. Before the plants may flower, they must be fully grown, with stems that are at least 25 cm long. Moving plants outside in the summer and keeping them at milder temperatures (50°F and 60°F as opposed to room temperature) during the winter may promote flowering.
Burro’s tail grows best in containers where the stems can hang down vertically because of its trailing branches. The pendant stems can be displayed in hanging baskets, urns, or sizable pots on pedestals. Put enough material in a head-shaped container to resemble dreadlocks. Individual plants can live for decades under ideal conditions inside. They can be utilized as temporary hanging plants outdoors in wind-sheltered areas. There are multiple hanging baskets of these plants at Lotusland in Santa Barbara, California, each with a shade cover that gives them the appearance of a gigantic jellyfish.
The optimal conditions for burro’s tail growth are bright light to full sun; in low light, the internodes will be longer and the stems’ leaves won’t be as tightly packed. If the light is too strong, the leaves lose their blue-green color and turn yellowish. It thrives in a growing medium with good drainage, like cactus mix or standard potting soil that has been liberally supplemented with perlite, pumice, baked clay granules, or even fine pea gravel (but not sand, which tends to fill the soil pores and hinder rather than enhance drainage). Only once or twice during the growing season, apply mild fertilizer. Repot in the spring, but only after the plant has completely filled the container. After repotting, wait about a week before watering again, and then water sparingly until the plant is established again. Mealybugs rarely infest the stems of this plant, which has minimal insect problems overall; root rot brought on by excessive watering is the most frequent problem. Wilting or mushy leaves could be a sign of excessive soil moisture.
Being a succulent, it cannot handle being overwatered, especially during the winter when it is dormant. Between waterings, the soil should be given a chance to almost dry out. During the growing season, water often, but less frequently in the fall and only enough during the winter to keep the potting media from drying up entirely. Indoor plants could only require watering once a month, depending on the environment.
In the Midwest, burro’s tail is typically grown as a year-round houseplant, but if the weather consistently rises above 40°F, the plants can be transferred outside for the growing season. They must gradually get used to the light circumstances outside to avoid being sunburned. In the fall, bring the plants back inside when it’s expected that the nightly low would be 40°F. Cuttings of stems or leaves can be used to easily propagate Sedum morganianum. Individual leaves cut from the stem will produce roots, but it will take more time to regenerate a plant of significant size than from stem cuttings. To root stem cuttings, push the stem ends down into the rooting media after removing the leaves from the lower end of the cut stem and letting it dry for a day or two. In order to keep long or heavy stem cuttings in place while the roots grow enough, they may need to be pinned or staked. Plants may not begin to root successfully for several months. You can also grow this species from seeds or divisions.
Do the leaves on a burro’s tail regrow?
The leaves on your burro’s tail plant will probably regrow if they were damaged when you touched them or manipulated the plant in any way. A day or two after the leaves have fallen, new offsets may begin to form.
Burro’s tail naturally loses a lot of leaves, but it also quickly regrows them. Even new burro’s tail plants can be propagated using the fallen leaves.
The leaves might not regrow unless the root rot or overwatering that’s causing the loss is treated, though.
Simply reduce your watering frequency until you reach the ideal watering schedule for your plant to correct overwatering. When a plant has stem rot, the entire rotten root system must be removed, and the entire plant must be repotted.
In either case, the issue is simply fixable. Burro’s tails are remarkably resilient, so we’re confident you’ll quickly restore them to their previous splendor.