Transform your garden with mermaid’s tail succulent

by Eva October 25, 2020

written by Eva October 25, 2020

Transform your garden with mermaid’s tail succulent

If you’ve ever wanted to have an enchanted garden as if it came out of a fairy tale, the succulent mermaid’s tail is the perfect plant for you. This plant is botanically known as Senecio vitalis cristata and it is a hybrid of cacti and succulents. Read on to learn more about her.

Best Beautiful Cascading Succulents for your home, yard and garden

The succulent mermaid tail has a really unique appearance and what fascinates is its crest or fasciation, an abnormal growth condition in which the apical meristem that is usually concentrated around a point, is prolonged generating sinuous, crested or shaped flattened tissues of tapes. Fasciation is also known as crestation or crystallization.

This anomaly can be caused by a mutation in the meristematic cells, by the attack of parasites, by a bacterial infection or by a chemical or mechanical damage.

Senecio vitalis cristata has gone viral thanks to the fact that many people have shared publications of this plant that seems to have come out of the depths of the sea not only for its mermaid tail shape but also for its greenish blue color.

The succulent mermaid tail can grow 30 to 60 cm tall with a width of 90 cm to 150 cm. It is very easy to care for, making it perfect for anyone with little gardening experience. All you have to do is water it when the first 2.5 cm of the substrate is dry.

This beautiful plant is native to South Africa and grows in winter and remains dormant during the summer. Plant in well-drained soil special for cacti and succulents and place in a sunny or lightly shaded location.

What did you think of this post about the succulent mermaid tail? Did you know it existed? Leave your comments.