03 August 2016

The “touch-me-not” plant

It's actually not called that, of course. In everyday language, people call these "donkey tail" or "burro's tail" plants. The scientific name is Sedum morganianum, and the plant is native to Honduras and southern Mexico. It's a sedum, then, and part of the Crassulaceae family. I brought a tiny stem of it back to France from North Carolina about 10 years ago, and this is what it has become.


And there are two plants now. They both need to be repotted, but I can't touch them without breaking off hundreds of their leaves. I have to sweep or vacuum them up, or I can try to plant them in potting soil and end up with even more plants.


These kinds of sedum plants can't survive outdoors in the climate of northern France, so I keep them on the little glassed-in sun porch by the front door of the house. The porch isn't heated but the plants tolerate the chilly environment in wintertime and enjoy the heat and light of summertime.

7 comments:

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    1. Once or twice. The flowers are not spectacular.

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  2. They'll enjoy the new greenhouse.

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  3. Donkey Tails. We had one. Don't touch them as bits will fall off. Great memory.

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  4. I had a spider plant that did the same thing, put out lots of little things that needed repotting, and then kept producing more plants. I couldn't bear to throw away the babies and wound up with a gazillion little plants.
    Be firm with them, tell them not to expand so much. Good luck.

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    1. Been there, done that. I have put pots and pots of those spider plants into the compost this spring and summer. I still have too many of them. Compost, he we come.

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