Propagating Donkey's Tail

Today we started a new pot of Donkey's Tails (Sedum morganianum). The Donkey Tails or Burro's Tail is a trailing succulent plant, supposedly native to Mexico. However, many horticulturists claim they have never found a wild "Burro's Tail" in Mexico.

The succulent is easily grown from "cuttings." The plant creates long drooping tendrils several feet long. It has fat blue-green leaves growing on stems. This succulent will produce wonderful pink blooms in the spring.

Donkey's Tail makes an excellent indoor plant. It's particularly well-suited to growing in a hanging basket. We will grow ours where it can get direct sunlight which promotes the blue- green color in the leaves.

Even though it is a rugged plant and withstands extreme temperature changes, it must not be allowed to get too cold or close freezing. It likes an area with low humidity, and grows best when kept around 68 degrees F (20 degrees C).

Like all succulents, this plant is susceptible to over watering. During the active growing season, we will want to keep the top 1½ inch of the soil moist, being careful not to over water.

The "Donkey's Tail" is not a hungry plant, so we will only need to feed it occasionally with a low nitrogen fertilizer - maybe only once or twice a year.

It can be propagated very easily from stem or leaf cuttings. We started our leaf cuttings by simply removing the lower leaves from the Mother Plant and allowing the cut surface to dry for 24 hours before we planted them in a moistened cactus mix. Rooting will occur within a matter of a few days.

For a maximum effect, we planted several cuttings in our hanging basket because young plants are generally more attractive than older plants. When the Donkey's Tail gets to about 8 or 10-years-old, it begins to loose its distinctive blue- green color.