Is your home missing a sweet little succulent? Then why not buy a Crassula Baby’s Necklace!
As the name suggests, Crassula Baby’s Necklace plants are small and cute succulents that can be incredible home decorations. These plants have little, rounded, and fleshy leaves that bear puff and multicolored grayish-green with rose-red edges which is why people believe they resemble string beads on a baby’s necklace.
We only have good news when it comes to these great succulents! Crassula Baby’s Necklace plants are easy to grow and care for. So, even if you are a novice grower, there’s nothing to worry about when it comes to growing and caring for Crassula Baby’s Necklace succulents.
Are you thinking about getting one for your home or for your office? Keep reading our article to learn how properly care for Crassula Baby’s Necklace and how to ensure that it grows healthy and happy.
About Crassula Baby’s Necklace
- Like most other Crassula species, Crassula Baby’s Necklace plants originate from the eastern cape of South Africa.
- Their botanical name comes from Latin and it is derived from “Crassus,” which means thick and fleshy, describing the plant’s leaves appearance and “rupestris,” which stands for “rock.” The Crassula Baby’s Necklace plant is also known by several other names, including Baby’s Necklace Vine, Kebab Bush, Rosary Vine, and Concertica plant.
- The genus Crassula is diverse and extensive, containing about 350 species. The Crassula Baby’s Necklace is one of the most popular species thanks to its unique appearance.
- Crassula Baby’s Necklace plants are eye-catching ornamental plants, making lovely decorations for both homes and offices. What’s more, thanks to their tiny size, you can place them in small spots and put them anywhere you like (as long as they get enough light), such as your office desk or a tight shelf.
- Although they are easy to grow, Crassula Baby’s Necklace plants are very susceptible to mealy bugs and fungal diseases. To protect your plants from mealybugs, you must make sure you’re not overwatering or over-fertilizing them.
- If your Crassula Baby’s Necklace already has mealybugs, remove them with a moistened cotton wool dipped in alcohol.
- To protect your Crassula Baby’s Necklace plant from fungal diseases, treat any section you cut with fungicide.
- Crassula Baby’s Necklace plants thrive in average summer temperatures up to 70 °F (21°C). During the cold season, they can survive temperatures down to 50°F (10°C).
- These plants love to stay in sunny places, but they don’t like the scorching sun. We recommend placing your Crassula Baby’s Necklace succulents in spots where they receive full sun in the morning but partial shade in the afternoon and the evening.
- As with all succulents, Crassula Baby’s Necklace plants don’t like wet feet. Overwatering your Crassula Baby’s Necklace plant is a sure way to kill it. It’s best to let it get too dry than too wet. If, by mistake, you overwater your plant, try to pour off any excess water after a few minutes.
- Crassula Baby’s Necklace is non-toxic for humans and animals, which means that you don’t need to think twice before adding a Crassula Baby’s Necklace to your indoor plant collection even if you have small kids or pets.
Crassula Baby’s Necklace Features: An Overview
- Crassula Baby’s Necklace plants remain quite small even after reaching maturity. They grow only up to 12 inches (30 cm). The plants first have an upward growth and then spill over their pot as they reach maturity.
- These plants look very similar to their famous distant cousin Crassula Perforata, also known as the String of Buttons succulent. The only noticeable difference between the two is the pointier and star-shaped leaves of Crassula Baby’s Necklace compared to the leaves of its cousin.
- The leaves of Crassula Baby’s Necklace plants appear to spiral around the stem, creating a unique pattern. The leaves are pale green in color, with rose-red edges. The more the plants are exposed to sunlight, the more intense the color of the edges becomes.
- In late spring to early summer, Crassula Baby’s Necklace plants start to produce small white flowers at the top of their leaves. The flowers produced by these plants don’t have any significant fragrance but they are really cute.
Growing Crassula Baby’s Necklace
Growing this small and adorable succulent isn’t much more complicated than it is to care for other similar succulents. Even if you are a novice grower, you can take good care of your Crassula Baby’s Necklace plant as long as you keep in mind a few essential caring tips.
First, consider the lighting requirements of Crassula Baby’s Necklace plants.
These plants prefer sunny spots but can also adapt well to partial shade. What they don’t like is the scorching sun. Direct and intense sunlight can burn your delicate Crassula Baby’s Necklace plant. It’s best to avoid placing your plant in bright, direct sunlight.
We recommend keeping your Crassula somewhere it can get full sun in the morning (approximately 4-6 hours of light per day) and partial shade in the evening to protect it from getting burned. If you notice that your plant stretching out, you might be dealing with a sign that it is not receiving enough light. Crassula Baby’s Necklace plants tend to stretch out when they seek out more light.
You don’t necessarily have to fertilize your Crassula Baby’s Necklace plant but giving it more nutrients will help it grow healthy and encourage blooms. This type of plant uses a lot of energy to bloom. So, feeding it with more nutrients will help supplement your plant’s needs during the flowering season.
It’s best to fertilize the plant during the active growing season, which is during the spring and summer months. What fertilizer to use? We recommend using fertilizer blends specially formulated for cacti and succulents.
How to Plant Crassula Baby’s Necklace
Like most succulents, Crassula Baby’s Necklace plants need well-draining soil because they hate wet feet and are very susceptible to root rot. We recommend using soil that allows water to pass through it, such as a mixture of cactus potting mix with perlite or sandy soil for added drainage.
Another essential aspect to keep in mind is the temperatures this plant thrives best in. Crassula Baby’s Necklace prefers average summer temperatures, up to 70 °F (21°C). You need to protect your Crassula Baby’s Necklace plant from freezing temperatures. The lowest temperature this plant can survive is 50°F (10°C). If you live in an area with freezing temperatures during the cold season, it’s best to plant it in a pot that you can bring indoors during the winter.
Extra tip: Crassula Baby’s Necklace plants are extremely adorable thanks to their unique shape and tiny sizes. So, you can use more colorful pots to plant Crassula Baby’s Necklace plants and use them as natural ornaments in your home or office. They will look amazing!
Live Crassula Baby Necklace Succulent, From Amazon
Watering Crassula Baby’s Necklace
If you don’t want to kill your Crassula Baby’s Necklace, make sure you don’t overwater it.
Crassula Baby’s Necklace plants are resistant to drought but are very susceptible to root rot. So, it’s better not to water the plant enough than to overwater it.
There really isn’t a preset schedule for when to water your Crassula plants. The watering schedule can depend on the climate and on the humidity levels. The best way to make sure that you’re not overwatering your plant is to let the soil dry before watering.
During summer months, you’re probably going to water your Crassula Baby’s Necklace plant as often as every 7-10 days. During the cold season, you should cut back on watering to about every 10-14 days.
If, by mistake, you pour too much water into your plant’s pot, don’t let it sit there because this will lead to root rot and fungal diseases! Leave it for a few minutes so that your plant takes as much water as it needs, and then pour off any excess water.
Propagating Crassula Baby’s Necklace
Propagating these adorable succulents is as easy as it is to care for them. Like most succulents, Crassula Baby’s Necklace plants propagate via stem cuttings. They can also be propagated from leaves, but this might be a more time-consuming process than from stem cuttings.
How to propagate a stem? Remove it from the mature plant and let it dry for a few hours or even a day so that the cut heals. Next, place it in a well-draining potting mix. Keep it away from direct sunlight and only water it every few days.
It should take about two weeks until you’ll notice that the stem has grown its new root system. Once the root system is fully developed, you can cut back on watering to once a week. As the plant grows, make sure you increase the amount of light it gets every day.
In conclusion
Their unique appearance and size make Crassula Baby’s Necklace plats stand out among all succulents. They are easy to grow and care for, even for novice growers who are just starting their succulent journey.
Now that you know how to grow and care for Crassula Baby’s Necklace succulents, all you have to do is add one to your collection. If there’s a tiny spot in your home or office that needs an adorable plant, bring this small and cute succulent in.
