Sedum morganianum, commonly known as Burro’s Tail or Donky Tail, is a species of flowering plant native to southern Mexico. Ordinarily its stems can grow up to two feet long, but due to its hardy nature, drought tolerance and ability to adapt to very small growing spaces, it’s a good candidate for tiny plantings.
- Bright Direct Light 6 hours or longer
- Water sparsely every 10-14 days, let dry between watering
- Feed once a month May – September
- Temperature 50°F – 90°F (10°C – 32°C)
- Change soil once a year (ideally) or no longer than two
Bright Direct Light
Like most succulents, Burro’s Tail prefers bright direct light for at least 6 hours. Bright indirect light may also work if the sun is particularly strong where you live.
If the blue-green leaves start to bleach out to pale yellow, the light may be too strong. Pull it a few feet away from the window or relocate to an east facing location, if you can, especially for the duration of your hotter seasons.
Succulents can go dormant or semi-dormant during the summer (and again in winter) so pay close attention if watering seems to be causing too many leaves to fall off (more than just a few)—you may need to water less frequently until autumn and spring.
In latitudes where the sun is weaker (like Seattle), a south or west facing window is good all year long—except for the odd summers where the temperature stays above 90 degrees for days in a row. Again, pull it further away from the window or relocate the plant to a temporary eastern exposure if you spot any bleaching. Using LED Grow Lights throughout darker months may help if the stems appear to stretch, leaving the leaves more spread out and not as compact—the light is definitely too low. In ideal light conditions, you won’t be able to see the stem at all except where the oldest leaves have dropped away closer to the root-end.
An LED Grow Light is an excellent solution when there isn’t enough sunlight to keep your desert plants happy. It must be consistent, a daily dose of ideally 8 hours of grow light time in order to make a difference (6 is passable). If you live in an apartment with only north facing windows or generally poor light, you’ll definitely want grow lights for your succulents. Be aware that even grow lights can be too strong sometimes for some succulents—if you see bleaching, move the light further away or lower its intensity.
While there are loads of great LED plant lights on the market, this one has been the preferred brand at mini viridi, the SANSI Full Spectrum LED Grow Light 24W Bulb (300 Watt Equivalent), installed in an inexpensive swing arm desk lamp. Held at a 18″-24″ distance, this light works great for succulents and a good many other light hungry cacti.
Water
Burro’s Tail is VERY drought tolerant, and like most succulents, prefers to dry out between watering…perhaps only watering every 10-14 days for ordinary, larger plantings. However, even the tiniest plantings with this species can handle totally dry soil for weeks at a time, sometimes a couple months. It almost seems to be able to go dormant on demand. If it’s truly dehydrated, the fat little leaves will shrivel a little and the stem becomes visible. With a single watering, it’ll recover in a day or two, though you may loose some of the leaves.
For small plantings like we have at mini viridi, Burro’s Tail remains small with sparse watering. Stay on the side of too little water, Burro’s Tail is adapted for this. We recommend watering only once every 10-14 days in warmer Summer months and every 14-25 days in winter months when it’s dormant.
Regardless of the size of your planting, Burro’s Tail doesn’t want soggy soil or to be left standing in water. Miniature plantings that have no drainage hole in the pot are designed for about a tablespoon of water maximum. With no drainage hole, the water has time to fully hydrate extremely dry (and consequently water resistant) soil—any excess can evaporate quickly. Still, err on the side of less water…no standing water in the pot. If you overwater, poke a long strip of paper towel a 1/4″-1/2″ into the soil and let the excess water wick away, it won’t take long with a tiny pot.
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