Crassula Muscosa aka Watch Chain- Your New Succulent Best Friend

Every succulent garden needs a bit of refreshment from time to time. The best way to make everything pop again is to go in with some unusual addition. Well, the succulent world has a lot of unusual to offer. One of the popular plants among the succulent lovers lately is Crassula muscosa, also known as a Watch Chain. This amazing plant will turn some heads this summer in your garden.

Crassula muscosa Will Crowl It’s Way Into Your Heart

Crassula muscosa is a typical ornamental succulent. Also, it makes a great house plant you can grow in cute little containers. This succulent is native to  Namibia, Lesotho, and South Africa. Watch Chain can get up to 12 inches (30cm) high and about 8 inches (20 cm) wide. That width is filled with numerous branches the stems will put out over time. The breathtaking appearance comes from stems. They are covered in cropped rows of narrow faint green interlocking leaves. These leaves are the reason this succulent is also known as a Zipper Plant.

When it comes to blooming, Crassula muscosa will surprise you. Instead of sending up the flowers like most of the succulents, this plant blooms with flowers that appear along the stems with leaves. Crassula muscosa is blooming from spring to late summer. Flowers are green-yellow. Also, don’t be surprised if you notice new flowers outside the usual blooming season. Crassula muscosa can sometimes blooms after the watering or heavy rain if grown outside.

Grow and Care Tips

Crassula muscosa needs a bit of your love, but overall, it has somewhat typical succulent needs. The first thing you need to know is that it isn’t a big fan of low temperatures. If you’re growing the Watch Chain indoors, there’s no need to worry. However, as an outdoor plant, it won’t tolerate temperatures below 200°F (-6.70°C). Even then, it’s best that you protect it from freezing night temperatures.

Crassula muscosa loves rocky soil. Therefore, you should go with a well-draining succulent soil mix and add some rocks and other similar draining help. On that note, this combination will look amazing in a glass pot with a draining hole. Crassula muscosa won’t tolerate “wet feet”. When it comes to watering, you should do your best to mimic the natural habitat, with rare, but heavy downpours. Water your Crassula muscosa only when the soil is completely dry and get a decent amount in. This is why the well-drainage, rocky soil is crucial.

Mimicking the natural habitat also goes for lighting. Crassula muscosa will love partial to full sunlight. If you’re growing it indoors, place it near the brightest window. As an outdoor plant, it will thrive the best if exposed to at least 6 hours of sunlight daily. However, make sure that your Crassula muscosa doesn’t get sunburned in the summer. In summer afternoon, extremely harsh rays may hurt your plant.

Propagation

The easiest way to propagate Crassula muscosa is from cuttings. Simply cut one of the numerous branches with a sterile knife. Make sure that you get a clean-cut, without any leftovers on the plant. Let the cutting to callus for a few days and plant it in well-draining, rocky soil. All you have to do is to leave it in a bright place and water when the soil is dry. However, don’t go in with water immediately. Let the cutting have two days to acclimate first. Then, just treat it like a mature plant.

Finally, since Crassula muscosa has a tendency to over-brunch, you should repot it from time to time. When you notice that it’s getting crowded in a pot, let the soil dry completely. Then, get the bigger pot and a fresh soil mix, gently remove the plant with a root system, clean it out from the old soil and plant it in a fresh one.

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