Sedum Burrito belongs to the attractive and captivating species of succulents because of their unusual appearance. It has trailing stems that are densely packed with fleshy leaves in colors ranging from grey-green to blue-green covered with powdery bloom. Cascading down your garden wall looking like a waterfall of pretty plaited green ropes.
Growing Sedum Burritos is stress-free and fulfilling. You have to perfect the four elements of watering, soil, lighting, and temperature. Once done you must know how to propagate and maintain the plant. Then you can try producing the best ever Sedum Burritos in your own garden!
How to Grow Sedum Morganianum ‘Burrito’
Below are instructions for growing the finest of Sedum Burritos:
1. Watering Requirements
Remember, the watering schedule of the Sedum burrito depends on the environmental conditions of your place.
In places with high humidity, you may expect a longer period of watering schedule compared to areas with high temperatures.
The weather is also put into consideration, so you should have to be prepared for this.
On normal days of spring to fall, you have to regularly water the plant every 7 to 10 days. This schedule is deemed proper to ensure the plant will not soak in water leading to root rot.
Although you might adjust this schedule in high humid places as the moisture in the soil takes longer to evaporate.
However, on days like summer, you may have to shorten the watering schedule because the high temperatures quickly dry the water in the soil.
On the other hand, an opposite adjustment goes for the winter season as the soil remains moist for longer periods especially if they receive rainwater.
Thus, you have to stretch the schedule a bit every 10 to 14 days.
The plant goes in the state of dormancy during winter so there is less activity for them so you don’t have to worry about them getting dehydrated.
Also, they are drought tolerant and they prefer to stay in a dry environment than being soaked in water for longer periods.
Most importantly, always check the soil before watering. If the soil has dried two to four inches from the surface, that is the best indication to water the plant.
Make to water until the water drains completely from the pot otherwise, you have to change the soil which leads us to the next element.
2. Soil Requirements
It is a requirement among succulent species to use well-draining soil when growing them. A well-draining soil keeps them safe from root rot while still getting all the nutrients from the water.
You can use a cactus potting mix because they are specifically made to match the needs of succulents. They have a good draining system that the succulents love.
You can also improve their draining system by adding perlite or coarse sand to the mixture.
The addition of perlite and coarse sand is helpful to areas with high humid places to encourage water to dry faster.
In normal areas, you may use a 1:1 ratio of cactus potting mix and perlite or coarse sand.
In high humid areas, you may increase the ratio to 2:1 cactus potting mix and perlite or coarse sand, or you can combine the three of them using a 1:1:1 ratio of cactus potting mix, perlite, and coarse sand.
Equally important, if the soil does not drain water after watering the plant, you should repot the plant immediately because the soil has become dense already.
To repot, gently remove the plant from the soil until they are clean and all the dead roots are cut. Afterward, plant them in fresh, well-draining soil and apply enough amount of water to set everything together.
3. Lighting Requirements
Most succulents need a perfect amount of lighting to grow and so is the Sedum burrito. They love to be placed in a location with great access to direct sunlight where they can get exposed up to 6 hours per day.
However, anything beyond this period will more likely cause sunburn, especially in places with extreme heat conditions.
In summer, it is expected that the temperature will rise and the plants may not withstand the light compared to normal days.
Fear not, you can always solve this by transferring the plant to an area where they can still get 6 hours of light during the day and partial shade during the afternoon.
It is not hard as this plant is usually planted in containers compared to other succulents that are grown in flowerbeds.
The downside of this plant is that it is inadvisable to grow indoors. That is because indoor lighting is hugely different from outdoor lighting and Sedum burritos love a good amount of lighting to grow healthy and fleshy leaves with bright and lovely shades of green.
Nevertheless, it is not a deal-breaker and in fact, it is one of the unique characteristics of this plant; to never settle for less if you want to shine.
4. Temperature Requirements
When it comes to temperature, Sedum burrito is best grown under USDA hardiness zones 10a to 11b.
They can also withstand temperatures as low as -1.1 to 10 degrees Celsius but not for longer periods.
In winter, you have to transfer them inside your homes where the temperature is modified.
You can also install a greenhouse for them if you have other succulents in your garden. This will help them survive the cold weather of the winter season.
Again, they prefer a dry environment with enough access to sunlight, and exposing them to cold temperatures for longer periods will damage the plant especially if the temperature in your area gets extremely low.
Yet, if you live under USDA hardiness zones 10 to 11b, you can leave them outside all year round without worrying.
Sedum Burrito (Sedum Morganianum Burrito) Names and Origins
Many people call this plant Baby Burro’s Tail or Baby Donkey’s Tail because the plant somewhat symbolizes a tail of a donkey and the names became popular which became the common names of Sedum burrito.
Also, the term Sedum burrito is a shorter version of its technical name Sedum Morganianum Burrito. Thus, they all point to the same type of succulents, and confusing them is no longer a problem.
Interestingly, the Sedum Burrito’s origin is covered with mystery. The plant was formally introduced by Reid Moran in 1977, thus the scientific name of the plant is Sedum Burrito Moran.
He said that the plant was based on two specimens that he bought years before at local nurseries in Guadalajara and Veracruz, Mexico.
For this reason, there is no standing record that the Sedum Burrito occurred in a natural habitat. Although it is closely linked to Sedum Morganianum, stories formed that the Sedum Burrito is a vegetative sport or natural hybrid of Sedum morganianum.
In the following years, around 2017, Myron Kimnach published the plant as Sedum Morganianum ‘Burrito’ but no material was selected for cultivation.
Final Thoughts
You’ll notice that The Sedum Burrito stands different from The Sedum Morganianum because of its shorter stems and more rounded leaves.
The flowers of The Burrito are small and star-shaped marked by pink hues with deeper pink irregular lines and yellow anthers. They usually appear during the spring season in terminal clusters of one to six flowers.
This plant is truly a magical succulent to add to your garden and it’s so eyeing catching beautiful and different.
If you plan to grow this plant successfully, simply follow our above instructions and you can’t go wrong! Happy Days!
Jenny Marie
Tribal Writer
Edited By
Patricia Godwin
