Jelly Bean Plant

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Origin

The Jelly Bean Plant (Sedum rubrotinctum) is a perennial succulent that gets its common name from its rounded bean-shaped leaves. These leaves come in shades of green to reddish-brown, giving this plant a fun and unique appearance.

They are native to Mexico, where they naturally grow on rocky outcrops - this is why Sedums are also known as 'Stonecrops' (as well as because they're said to be as low maintenance in terms of care as a stone!)

These plants are a miniature hybrid of Sedum stahlii and Sedum pachyphyllum, hence why they look so similar to these species! One simple way to distinguish Sedum rubrotinctum from its close relatives is by its size - its individual leaves are much smaller.

Care

The Jelly Bean Plant can handle heat and sunlight well due to being adapted to survive in a hot, arid native environment. As such, you should provide yours with plenty of sun and keep it warm - it won't like being exposed to frosty conditions, so if you usually keep yours outdoors then be sure to bring it inside before the colder months.

Like other succulents, the Jelly Bean Plant will do well on little water and can largely be left alone as they're a very easy-care plant. Only water your plant again once the soil has completely dried out, and if you're ever unsure then it's better to wait before watering again as it's much easier to kill a Jelly Bean Plant by overwatering it than by underwatering. Keep an eye out for yellowing or mushy leaves, as this can be a sign that your plant is getting too much water.

The small bean-like leaves can turn reddish in full sunlight, so if you want to encourage more intense colors to develop, you should make sure that your plant gets enough sunlight.

Other

During the springtime, a Jelly Bean Plant can produce flowers. These are small, shaped like stars and yellow in color.

You can easily propagate this plant using one of its leaves - just gently twist it off from the stem, allow it to dry for a couple of days and then plant it in its own little pot. Alternatively, you can take a stem cutting.

Note that as much as this plant may look good enough to eat, it's unfortunately toxic to animals, so be sure to keep it well out of reach if you have pets at home!