Crassulaceae FAMILY

Dudleya edulis

Edibility

3/5

Medicinal

0/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Perennial

Growth—

Requires a very sunny position in a well-drained soil^[1]. Plants enter a semi-dormant state in late summer and they should be kept fairly dry at this time^[1]. There must be some doubt over the hardiness of this species. One report says that it is hardy to zone 8 which suggests that it should tolerate occasional cold periods down to between -5 and -10°c, but the report also says that the plants should be protected from frost, with a winter temperatures no lower than 7°c^[1].

Propagation

Seed - we have no details for this species but suggest sowing the seed in spring in a greenhouse. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Cuttings of side shoots in the summer. Dry the stem for 24 hours before planting in a very sandy soil mix^[1]. The main stem can also be used, the parent plant will then produce new plantlets at the cut edge^[1]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Dudleya+edulis>

Pollinators

Insects

References

[1]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
[2]A California Flora. — Munz P.A. & Keck D.D. · University of California Press; Los Angeles · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent flora but no pictures. Not for the casual reader.
[3]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.