Dudleya edulis
Fingertips Live-Forever
Dudleya edulis is a succulent plant known by the common name Fingertips, Lady Fingers, and Dead Man's Fingers. This dudleya is in the subgenus Stylophyllum, which features flowers held wide open, and is fly or bee pollinated. Dudleya edulis is native to southern California and Baja California, where it grows in rocky sandstone soils of the coastal and inland areas. The fingertips are made up of fleshy, snakelike leaves growing vertically from just below ground level. The finger-like leaves are pale green or yellow green, cylindrical and pointed, growing up to 8 inches tall. Its fingers are delicate and break readily; they may be covered with a light coating of white powder, but much less than is found on other dudleya species, such as Dudleya pulverulenta. The tips of the fingers often turn orange or red during the summer. The plant bears a branching flower cluster with several terminal branches, each bearing up to 10 or 11 flowers. The flowers have pointed white petals about 0.5 inch long. It flowers in the spring and summer months. While it appears to be tolerant of a variety garden soils, it is found in the wild almost entirely in sandstone soils. It prefers full sun to partial shade, and is drought tolerant when established.
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Full sun
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Very little water
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A little frost hardy: 32F (0°C)
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Light and free draining
Common name
Fingertips Live-Forever
Latin name
Dudleya edulis
type
Succulent
family
Crassulaceae
ph
5.0 - 7.0 Acid - Neutral
Plant & bloom calendar
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Best time to plant
full grown dimensions
Dudleya edulis
Dudleya edulis is a succulent plant known by the common name Fingertips, Lady Fingers, and Dead Man's Fingers. This dudleya is in the subgenus Stylophyllum, which features flowers held wide open, and is fly or bee pollinated. Dudleya edulis is native to southern California and Baja California, where it grows in rocky sandstone soils of the coastal and inland areas. The fingertips are made up of fleshy, snakelike leaves growing vertically from just below ground level. The finger-like leaves are pale green or yellow green, cylindrical and pointed, growing up to 8 inches tall. Its fingers are delicate and break readily; they may be covered with a light coating of white powder, but much less than is found on other dudleya species, such as Dudleya pulverulenta. The tips of the fingers often turn orange or red during the summer. The plant bears a branching flower cluster with several terminal branches, each bearing up to 10 or 11 flowers. The flowers have pointed white petals about 0.5 inch long. It flowers in the spring and summer months. While it appears to be tolerant of a variety garden soils, it is found in the wild almost entirely in sandstone soils. It prefers full sun to partial shade, and is drought tolerant when established.
Propagation
From Early Spring TO Late Winter
Succulents can be propagated by different means. The most common one is the vegetative propagation. They include cuttings where several inches of stem with leaves are cut and after healing produce a callus. After a week or so, roots may grow. A second method is division consisting of uprooting an overgrown clump and pulling the stems and roots apart. The easiest one is allowing the formation of callus from a leaf. The vegetative propagation can be different according to the species.
Planting
From Early Spring TO Early Spring
Succulents need good draining soil. When planting in the garden, make sure the area drains well and is not in a low spot that would stay wet. For container planting you can purchase cactus soil or incorporate sand, gravel or volcanic rock for better drainage. The container you are planting in should have a drainage hole or put crushed rock on the bottom before your planting medium. Dudleya should be planted at an angle. This allows accumulated water to drain from the nestlike center of the plant, thus preventing microbial decay.