Wednesday, June 12, 2013

The Succulent With Poppy Flowers

A few years ago I kept seeing this strange succulent plant with tall very un-succulent like flowers everywhere.  When I worked at a nursery 21 years ago, I had never seen such a thing.  It is Calandrinia spectabilis.   Say KAL-an-DREEN-ee-uh.    See how the flowers kinda look like Poppy blooms but the bottom foliage part is definitely a succulent.   I love those magenta flowers with that blue-gray foliage.



It is native to Chile or the Western Americas.  Research differs.   The leaves stay lowish to the ground and grow up to about 12". But the flowers rise up on stems to 24" tall!   Crazy, huh?   Blooming season in SoCal is Spring and Summer.  

A few weeks ago when I finally decided that I needed one, I had to go to many nurseries to find it.  I ended up buying a too nice 2 gallon size pot at Lowes for $14.99.  But I was able to split it into 3 pieces and plant it in different parts of my yard.  
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7 comments:

  1. MollyMovieNightApril 19, 2014 at 11:18 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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    Replies
    1. AprilleApril 19, 2014 at 3:39 PM

      I got the email about your reply only to find it gone here. Thanks anyway. Glad you found some info.

      Delete
  2. AnonymousDecember 26, 2015 at 11:16 AM

    My foliage is stressed to be a apricot color

    ReplyDelete
  3. luv4lashesDecember 26, 2015 at 11:18 AM

    Is that normal ? Apricot ^

    ReplyDelete
  4. luv4lashesDecember 26, 2015 at 11:18 AM

    Is that normal ? Apricot ^

    ReplyDelete
  5. UnknownFebruary 24, 2017 at 1:33 PM

    I have one that I planted in my front yard, directly into the ground and now it's like 6ft around!!
    It's about 3yrs old.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Shpatton01@yahoo is my FacebookMay 6, 2020 at 4:26 AM

    Do u have unwashed poppy sav. Seeds available I live in Los Angeles.so u have any planted unwashed poppy sav onnyoie garddn

    ReplyDelete

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