The Burro’s Tail is a really unique looking succulent which does not need much care when propagating. I can be grown both indoors and outdoors. That is exactly what makes the best choice for both beginners and master gardeners. That is perhaps what makes it the best choice for houseplant and succulent lovers. Called fondly as Donkey Tail, the succulent has become one of the most popular options for growing in both indoors and outdoors.
Burro’s Tail can be easily propagated. You can propagate them in spring and summer using stems or leaf cuttings. Burro’s tail, like most succulents, can be propagated easily. You can also grow them easily enough both in water and soil.
What is Burro’s Tail?
Burro’s Tail or sedum morganianum is a succulent plant that belongs to Stonecrop family. Thee plant is also known as Donkey Tail. It known well enough for its pendulous stems and blue-green leaves. It is native to Honduras and Southern Mexico.
The leaves and stem of the plant are brittle to touch. The succulent can reach up to four inches in length. During the spring and summer season, the plant grows unscented flowers that are either red, pink, or lavender.
What Does a Burro’s Tail Look Like?
The Burro’s Tail does appear like an animal’s tail. It comes with the long cylindrical stem that have overlapping cylindrical leaves that are blue and green in color. The leaves are also densely packed and appear like little knobs.
The Burro’s Tail is resistant to heat and drought. That apart, it is also safer to pets and kids. You just need to have enough sunlight and it will grow with no hassles whatsoever. Burro’s tail (sedum morganianum) is a Crassulaceae or stonecrop family succulent plant. Because of its pendulous stems and blue-green leaves, the drought-tolerant succulent is also known as donkey tail, horse tail, lamb’s tail, and monkey’s tail.
Burro’s tail is a tropical plant native to southern Mexico and Honduras that is commonly sold as an indoor houseplant in North America, despite the fact that it can survive outside year-round in a warm climate (USDA Hardiness Zones 9–11).
Hanging baskets or large pots are ideal for these plants. The trailing stems of the burro’s tail can grow up to four feet long when fully grown, whereas the stems of the Baby Donkey Tail (sedum burrito) only reach two feet when fully grown.
The burro’s tail has blue-green leaves that are fragile to the touch, just like its stem. During the spring and summer, the burro’s tail will produce small, odourless red, pink, or lavender flowers on rare occasions.
How To Propagate Burro’s Tail?
There are several ways that you can propagate Burro’s Tail. I have tried all those methods and found all of them to be quite effective in offering you a powerful enough in propagating the succulent.
The best methods to propagate Burro’s Tail is to propagate it using Leaves and stem cuttings.
Follow the method here below to help you propagate Burro’s Tail –
Step 1 – Choose Stems Or Leaves
You can use either stem cuttings or leaves to help propagate the Burro’s Tail. Propagating the plant using leaf cuttings should be the easiest option. Get a few leaves from the tail stem and plant in oist soil. Thta does it and your plant will begin to grow.
Note – Remove the stems
If you’re propagating with stems, cut them to the length you want with clippers or another instrument. Allow the stems to recover and create calluses by peeling off the leaves at the bottom of the stem. The healing can take anywhere from one day to two weeks, depending on your climate.
Step 3 – Get your pot
Fill the new pot to one-quarter inch below the top rim of the point with well-draining soil or soil mix. Using a pencil or chopstick, make a hole and then place the cutting into it. If the stems are particularly heavy, use flower pins to secure them.
Step 4 – Keep closer to light source
Place your newly propagated plant in strong light, but not direct or direct sunlight.
Step 5 – Water your plant
Allow one to three days for the stems and soil to dry before watering the mix every five to seven days, depending on your environment or temperature indoors.
Lightly water the soil to keep it moist but not waterlogged. Root rot can be promoted by excessive watering.
Water once or twice a week, or if the soil seems dry. Reduce watering to once a week or less once the plant is rooted and established. Plants that are older have more water storage capacity than those that are younger.
Burro’s Tail Succulent Care
Taking care of Burro’s Tail should be much easy. The best part is that it does not need much care and can be taken care of irrespective of whether you are a novice or an expert gardener. Burro’s tail is a visually pleasing plant that requires little care or space to thrive. Here are a few steps that can be helpful in taking an absolute care of Burrro’s Tail.
1. Make sure to place it near the light source
Burro’s Tail does need a lot of bright light. If it is partial sun, you should provide at least four hours a day. However, make sure to keep it away from direct sunlight. Bright sun can turn the leaves yellow or pale green.
If you live in a chilly climate, bring your burro’s tail inside; they thrive in temperatures between 50 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Water it sparingly
Burro’s Tail belongs to the category of Succulent plants and that is exactly why you should water it very sparingly. The leaves store water and thus overwatering it will make it mushy and it may even die. The plant will decay if you overwater your burro’s tail.
Outdoor plants only require water every 10 to 14 days, while experts recommend watering the plant every 10 days throughout the growing season when temperatures are consistently over 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
Use the “soak and dry” method for watering, which means the soil should be totally dry before watering again. Depending on the temperature and amount of light in your home, indoor burro’s tails only need to be watered once a month.
3. Use well-draining soil
Use soil that drains effectively. Burro’s tails, like all succulents, require well-draining soil. Pure garden soil will encourage root rot, so a succulent-specific mix is best.
You may also make your own well-draining soil by mixing horticultural grade sand with perlite or pumice and adding it to potting soil.
Feeding compost and worm castings to your burro’s tails will provide extra nutrients; do so once a month during the summer and not at all during the winter.
4. Keep an eye on the pests.
Although you may encounter aphids or mealybugs on your plant, burro’s tails appear to be resistant to most insect pests. You can use a hose blast of water or a mixture of rubbing alcohol and water to spritz them.
Burro’s tails are also safe to use with neem oil, a naturally occurring pesticide derived from the seeds of the neem tree.
5. Repot as needed.
If a Burro’s tail becomes too big or outgrows its pot, repotting is simple, though mature plants are generally too fragile to repot. It’s ideal to use a terra-cotta pot with draining holes, as this will allow the plant to breathe and hold water.
Remove the plant when the soil is dry, inspect for rotting roots, and replace it in a fresh pot with well-draining soil. Allow the burro’s tail to dry for a week before softly watering the soil to allow the roots to grow while avoiding root rot.
Overwatered Burro’s Tail
An overwatered succulent can result in root rot. the possibility of root rot will be more pronounced if the plant is still young. Since the leaves of the plant store water, you would find it getting mushy and cause root rot if overwatered. Another sign of overwatering can be wilted leaves which will make the plant rot and die.
If you give your Burro’s tail too much water on a regular basis, the stems will rot. Succulents can also be shrivelled as a result of root and stem rot, which can progress to various fungal diseases.
Burro’s Tail Dropping Leaves
You are overwatering a Burro’s tail if you water it while the soil is still wet from the previous watering. This causes the plant’s leaves to fall off. Reduce watering and make sure the draining hole isn’t clogged to fix the problem.
Burro’s tail, also known as Sedum morganianum, is a tough but sensitive shrub. Burro’s tail leaves can come off with the touch of a finger. While the plant is easy to care for, many plant parents are concerned about the bald areas on its tendrils.
Burro’s tail leaves fall off for a variety of reasons, the most common of which is because it is a naturally fragile plant. This plant is perfectly typical in that it sheds its leaves with the slightest provocation. Other reasons are:
Over-watering
The burro’s tail, like many succulents, does not require much water. It’s prone to overwatering as a result of this.
Observing the leaves is the quickest way to tell if you’re overwatering your burro’s tail. You’re probably overwatering the plant if the leaves shrivel up before falling off.
Rotting
With succulents, root rot is a common problem. The burro’s tail develops root rot if the plant was not adequately repotted or if the roots have been treading water for an extended period of time.
This harms the plant and makes it easier for the leaves to fall off. You should examine the roots of the burro’s tail to see whether it has root rot.
New Leaves
Because new growth is emerging at the top of the plant, burro’s tail leaves can fall off. However, you need not be concerned because the fallen leaves will be restored as quickly as possible.
When the burro’s tail leaves fall off, you’ll notice tiny offsets, which indicate that the plant is alive and well.
When a Burro’s Tail Loses Its Leaves, What Should You Do?
Most of the time, the leaves of Burro’s Tail fall off naturally and they grow back once again. However, if you witnes a lot of leave droppings due to root rot or other issues, you can consider inspecting for pests, checking for bright sun, repotting the plant and allowing enough time for recovery.
If the leaves on your burro’s tail are dropping off, you should try to figure out why. Is it simply due to the plant’s delicate nature, or is there a more serious problem?
The burro’s tail is suffering from root rot if it is turning brown. To save the plant, carefully remove it from the pot and cut away all of the rotten sections.
Allow for the formation of calluses on the roots by allowing them to dry for a few days. Finally, repot the plant in a well-draining soil mixture.
There’s nothing you can do to stop leaves from shedding naturally. Taking care of the burro’s tail, on the other hand, can assist reduce shedding and prevent problems like root or stem rot.
Depending on the weather in your area, water your burro’s tail once every 20 days or once a month. Water the plant only when the soil is fully dry, according to a decent rule of thumb.
Increase the frequency of watering somewhat during the summer growing season. To help with growth, water it once every 10-15 days. During the winter, when it is dormant, avoid watering it.
The burro’s tail should not be exposed to direct sunlight. It’s too delicate for the scorching heat of July. The plant may survive in either partial shade or direct morning sunlight.
Reduce the plant’s exposure to the sun if the leaves are turning pale before they shed.
Will Burro’s Tail Leaves Grow Back?
Shedding a lot of leaves is quite common with Burro’s Tail. But the leaves grow back really quickly. You can even use the fallen leaves to propagate new plant. However, if you find the leaves falling due to issues such as root rot, or too much sunlight, you need to take enough care to solve the problems first.
If the tail leaves of your burro came off when you touched them or moved the plant in any manner, they will most likely regrow.
It’s possible that new offsets begin to form a day or two after the leaves have fallen off. You can also cultivate fresh burro’s tail plants with the fallen leaves.
If the shedding is due to root rot or overwatering, the leaves may not regrow unless the condition is addressed.
In either case, the issue is simply remedied. Burro tails are tough, and we’re confident you’ll be able to restore them to their former grandeur in no time.
Sedum Morganianum(Burro’s Tail) Blooms
The flowers of Sedum Morganianum are lovely, pink or reddish in colour. The blue-green foliage of the plant contrasts beautifully with the blossoms, giving it a distinctive appearance.
It’s a real joy to see these plants bloom. While it’s great to see them bloom, keep in mind that not all of them will. Whether or not your plant blooms is mostly determined by environmental forces beyond our control.
Tips for getting your Sedum Morganianum to bloom include:
- Plant Maturity
Check to see if the plant is mature and ready to blossom. Blooming indicates that a plant is ready to reproduce. If the plant is too young, it will not blossom since it is not ready to reproduce.
A Sedum Morganianum must reach a particular length and maturity before blooming. A small or young plant will not blossom right away.
2. Proper Temperatures
Provide the right temperatures to enhance blossoming. They require a significant temperature change between night and day, as well as summer and winter months.
Succulents prefer colder nighttime temperatures of 50-550F (10-130C) outside or at least 60-650F (15-180C) indoors.
Succulents prefer a significant temperature differential between night and day temperatures, especially when kept in a controlled setting, to simulate their natural habitat, with the low night temperatures playing an important role in the plant’s growth cycle.
3. Overwintering
If you want to see your succulents bloom, you’ll need to overwinter them. Desert cactus, in particular, might benefit from keeping cold and dry during the winter months.
During the winter, keep them cool by keeping the temperature between 35 and 440 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 and 70 degrees Celsius). If you must keep them indoors during the winter, keep them in a non-heated room or maintain the temperature low to provide them the chilly winter time they require.
4. Plenty of Light
Ensure that the plants get enough sunlight all year and are kept in a bright position, even during the colder winter months. The majority of cacti and succulents require at least 5-6 hours of bright sunshine per day, if not more.
5. Fertilize
While fertilisation isn’t required, providing your plants with the nutrients they require will help them grow properly and bloom. Plants expend a lot of energy to develop flowers, therefore supplementing their nutritional needs during the blossoming season will help.
Fertilizing during the active growing season, or during the spring and summer months, is the most popular recommendation.
Fertilizers should be administered every two weeks at a quarter or half strength. Fertilize less near the conclusion of the fall season and during the winter months. A balanced fertiliser blend diluted to half strength is appropriate and widely used. Fertilizer blends designed specifically for cactus and succulents can also be used. Here are some fertiliser suggestions from me.
In Conclusion
Burro’s tail (also known as donkey tail ) is a flowering succulent that is very easy to propagate.
Unusually shaped leaves and long, trailing stalks make Sedum Morganianum an interesting choice among succulent lovers. It looks great in hanging gardens and is also fairly hardy. The burro’s tail leaves, on the other hand, are incredibly fragile.
FAQs
Can Burros tail grow in water?
Yes, you can grow Burro’s Tail in water. You can simply put it in a cup filled with chlorinated water. You can either grow the stem cuttings or leave cuttings in the water.
Does donkey tail grow fast?
Donkey Tail or Burro’s tail can grow very slowly. It can grow to a size of four feet in six year’s time. You can either grow them as hanging plants or in potted way.
