If you find patterns on plants intriguing, then you must treat yourself to a Buddha’s Temple (the Crassula) succulent. They look wonderfully mysterious like an optical illusion because of the patterns and symmetry they produce. It’s one of the most compelling, mesmerizing, and fascinating plants you would want to own. No brainer – it’s a gotta have!
Buddha’s Temple (the Crassula) is a most unusual and hypnotic plant. Certainly, a collector’s item. It needs very little attention – just following the instructions in this article, and you can’t go wrong.
How to Plant Buddha’s Temple (the Crassula)
This succulent is a glorious man-made hybrid of Crassula Pyramidalis and Crassula Perfoliata Falcata.
Being a hybrid, an important challenge for gardeners when growing Buddha’s Temple (the Crassula) is the weak root system. That means the plant tends to become wobbly or unstable when it reaches a certain height because of its weak foundation.
This is due to it being a hybrid plant, thus it cannot evolve sufficiently by itself to withstand certain conditions compared to other sturdier succulents.
Thankfully, you can easily solve such a challenge with a few engineering steps. You can add stones around the base of the plant to reinforce the shallow root system. It might even look great if you use decorative stones.
That’s the only major project you will encounter with Buddha’s Temple (the Crassula) and it’s not a deal-breaker.
To plant this succulent, you can choose one of the three steps: seed sowing, leaf cuttings, or offsets. Each method is relatively easy to perform. It’s ‘a piece of cake’ to get the job done, so keep reading!
For Seed Sowing:
• Sow Your Seeds in A Growing Pot with Good Draining Soil
This is the easiest way to plant Buddha’s Temple (the Crassula) out of the three steps. All you need to have are the seeds and a growing pot filled with good draining soil. Sow the seeds in the soil, but not too deep, and water lightly to encourage germination.
Eventually, the seeds will sprout, and you should continue to apply water only when the soil is dry. Place them in an area with partial shade and proper aeration. Continue this process until the sprouts have become completely established.
Remember, planting through seed sowing is only recommended when you cannot find offsets or leaf cuttings.
This usually only happens to beginners who only possess one plant. When you finally have your second Buddha’s Temple (the Crassula), you can start propagating new plants through leaf cuttings or offsets.
For Leaf Cuttings:
• Remove A Leaf from The Mother Plant
The first vital step is to find a healthy mother plant and locate a mature and firm leaf. After that, take the leaf and apply a little pressure to keep ahold of it as you gently twist the leaf until it is removed.
Make sure the leaf doesn’t snap in two pieces otherwise you have to find another leaf.
In the beginning, this process might be a bit stressful but don’t be afraid to fail. You learn a lot from your mistakes. Always be gentle and sooner or later you’ll have leaf cuttings ready for propagation.
• Allow The Leaf Cuttings to Dry or Callous
The next important step after getting your leaf cuttings is to allow them to dry or callous for a few days. Put them in one container with the lid open and place the container in an area with partial shade and good aeration.
Forget about them for a few days and they should be dried or calloused once you attend to them again.
Don’t rush this part because it’s crucial for successful growth. If you plant the leaf cuttings directly without drying them, the fresh wound will be infected and kill the plant.
Let it dry for a few days and once it has, you can proceed to the next step.
• Plant Them in A Growing Pot Filled with A Good Draining Soil
The growing pot should be filled with good draining soil and nothing else. Gently plant the leaf cuttings in the soil but not too deep because the leaf should be exposed to sunlight.
Apply a little amount of water and wait for the soil to dry first before watering again.
For Offsets:
• Take An Offset from A Mother Plant
First, put on your gardening gloves. You need sterilized scissors or a sharp knife to do this. Make a gentle yet precise cut to take the offset from the mother plant. Be careful doing this process and avoid making inadvertent cuts to the mother plant.
• Allow The Offset to Dry or Callous
Like leaf cuttings, offsets should be allowed to dry or callous as well. Place them in one container with the lid open and put it in an area with partial shade and proper aeration. Attend to them after a few days and they should be ready for propagation.
• Plant Them in A Growing Pot Filled with A Well-Draining Soil
Always use well-draining soil when growing a succulent. Do not plant too deep because the offset needs to be exposed to sunlight. Apply water to help everything set and pour directly to the soil, not to the plant.
Wait for the soil to dry first before watering again. Repeat this process until the offset develops new growth and eventually establishes itself firmly.
How to Grow and Care for Buddha’s Temple (the Crassula)
Growing and caring for Buddha’s Temple (the Crassula) can be quite tricky at first but once you get ‘the hang of it’, it’s easy.
There are four main factors to remember: lighting requirements, temperature, watering, and soil requirements. Just provide the plant with all these elements and they will grow to be healthy succulent.
1. Lighting Requirements
The Buddha’s Temple (the Crassula) loves morning sunlight and should be moved to partial shade during afternoon sunlight because it has a high temperature.
The plants will suffer sunburn if exposed to extreme heat for longer periods.
In summer, move the plants to a partial shade area if planted in a container, or you can use an umbrella to cover them if planted in a grow bed.
When grown indoors, make sure to place them near a south-facing window for better sunlight exposure. However, if the sunlight becomes too extreme, move the plant a few inches away from the window.
Rotate the plant occasionally for even distribution of sunlight.
2. Temperature Requirements
If you live in an area with a hardiness zone 9b to 11b, you can grow them either indoors or outdoors.
However, if you live in an area with a climate that constantly drops temperatures below -1 degrees Celsius, you must plant them indoors.
Low temperatures can kill the plant, so make sure to provide them the proper temperature once transferred indoors.
Buddha’s Temple (the Crassula) is also not fond of extreme heat conditions.
High temperatures cause not only sunburn, but their lower leaves will drop. Then the succulent will go dormant. Immediately transfer them to an area with a balanced temperature.
3. Watering Requirements
As a succulent, Buddha’s Temple (the Crassula) does not want soaking wet environments. Don’t make this mistake because succulents are different to other plants.
They prefer a moist environment only, which is why you must use well-draining soil.
The climate in your area is a factor to consider when watering. Places with high humidity levels hold moisture in the soil for longer periods of time. You will notice a difference when you’re in an area of high temperature with humidity.
Before watering, always check the dryness of the soil first to prevent root rot.
4. Soil Requirements
A well-draining soil is crucial to keep a succulent in good health – this there applies to Buddha’s Temple (the Crassula). You can use a cactus potting mix combined with perlite or coarse sand to improve the drainage system.
If you can’t find the cactus potting mix in your local garden store, you can use the regular soil in your area and mix it with perlite or coarse sand.
The mixture should feel crumbly and should not form into a ball when you squeeze it. If it does form a ball when squeezed, just add perlite or coarse sand until you achieve the perfect mixture.
Test the drainage system by putting water on the soil. It should drain effectively, otherwise add more perlite or coarse sand.
Buddha’s Temple (the Crassula) Names and Origin
There’s a species of Crassula succulent plants containing approximately 200 acknowledged varieties, including the popular jade plant. Members of the Stonecrop family, they’re native to a large variety of countries, but they originate from the Eastern Cape of South Africa.
Unlike other succulents, the Buddha’s Temple (the Crassula) does not have other common names in circulation. That might be because the original name is already perfect for the plant and no other name is suitable to capture its amazing character.
The name Buddha’s Temple (the Crassula) is inspired by the actual temple of Buddha because when the plant grows taller, it really looks like a temple or the spire of one.
Furthermore, the genus Crassula has many variants starting from perennials to annuals, woody to herbaceous, shrubs to small trees, and groundcovers and they are all native to South Africa.
They are known to be small and fascinating at the same time, making them a great choice, if not perfect, for container plants.
However, the variant Buddha’s Temple of genus Crassula is an outstanding hybrid of Myron Kimnach back in 1959 and eventually became one of the most sought-after succulents in the world.
Oddly, the Buddha’s Temple (the Crassula) is toxic to cats and dogs, and other types of animals. Even though it’s a great houseplant that improves the ambiance of your house, it still carries something toxic that is threatening to your furry friends.
Therefore, please make sure you keep this plant in a safe place far away from the possible touch of your animal friends.
Final Thoughts
It can be almost hypnotizing to see the pattern and symmetry of this plant for the first time. It appears as a spellbinding challenge to humans—to craft something in pattern or symmetry of proportion.
The Buddha’s Temple (the Crassula) is a magnificent man-made hybrid of Crassula Pyramidalis and Crassula Perfoliate Falcata.
Moreover, Buddha’s Temple (the Crassula) instantly entices succulent collectors because of its intriguing appearance.
It has flat and soft leaves that are a silver to grey to green color forming a square columnar rosette that overlaps – hence making it a perfect square.
They can grow for up to 6 inches tall and spherical flowers in colors ranging from red, and orange, to white depending on the lighting and other basic conditions, are of superlative standard.
Some of us in the Tribe have decided that pictures are no longer enough! It’s so compelling it’s another gotta-have for our collection! Some people say we have compulsive natures. That’s not true – we just love plants of all types.
Jenny Marie
Tribal Writer
Edited By
Patricia Godwin
