.png) Saxifraga stolonifera 'Tricolor'
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- common names: mother of thousands, strawberry begonia, strawberry geranium
- flowering season: May - June
- height: 3 to 6 inches tall and wide; a plant spreads by thin runners into a widening colony
- Light requirements: partial shade
- Soil requirements: average garden soil or potting soil that drains freely
- Water requirments: less than average
- Growth habit: grows as a low clump and spreads by runners similar to the way strawberries can spread
- How to propagate: snipping the runners of one of the younger plants and transpanting it
- Leaf type: 1 to 2-inch round leaves that are edged in cream, with pink highlights
- Ways to use it: makes a permanent and undemanding houseplant if pot-grown, or will cover the ground in a semi-shaded location outdoors
- Special characteristics: it is happier if allowed to dry out between waterings than if kept constantly moist; this plant is often happier if the leaves are misted with water than watering its roots
- Other points of interests: the leaves are evergreen where winters are not too severe
Lightly hairy evergreen leaves are edged in cream with pink highlights. This perennial is hardy from USDA Zones 5 to 9. One of its common names is mother of thousands, referring to the many baby plants that will grow from it on runners. One plant can become a carpet of many plants. Although others recommend growing it in moist but well drained soil, our experience suggests that is it better to let the soil dry out considerably between infrequent waterings. The rocky cliffs of Japan and China that are its native home often have little soil, but instead have a very moist atmosphere, so the plant is adapted to drawing the moisture it needs from its leaves as much as from its roots. Its name Saxifraga, comes from the Latin words for rock (saxum) and break (frangere), in reference to where it is found in the wild. Delicate clusters of small white flowers rise to 15 inches in spring into summer. |
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