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| Category: Succulent |
| Family: Crassulaceae (Stonecrops) |
| Origin: South Africa (Africa) |
| Evergreen: Yes |
| Flower Color: White |
| Bloomtime: Spring/Summer |
| Synonyms: [Crassula fruticosa, Crassula caffra] |
| Height: 3-4 feet |
| Width: 2-3 feet |
| Exposure: Full Sun |
| Irrigation (H2O Info): Low Water Needs |
| Winter Hardiness: 25-30° F |
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Crassula tetragona (Miniature Pine Tree) - A small upright fast growing succulent shrub to 3 to 4 feet tall to 2 to 3 feet wide with sparsely branched stems that darken to brown with age with the younger stems green and holding narrow succulent green 1 inch long leaves in crossed pairs perpendicular to the stems. The small white flowers appear in profusion on a terminal inflorescence at branch tips in late spring and early summer. Plant in full sun to light shade in a well-drained soil and irrigated occasionally to infrequently - this is a heat loving drought tolerant plant that is easy to grow and easy to root out from broken stems and leaves. Makes a nice container plant and is useful in small containers where it can look like a bonsai pine tree. Reliably hardy to around 28°F and able to take it a bit colder for short durations. It is native to a wide area of South Africa, from the Orange River boundary of Namaqualand on the west to beyond the Kei River in the Eastern Cape on the east so occurring in both winter rainfall and of summer rainfall regions. The genus Crassula was a name Linnaean name first used in 1753 and comes from the Latin word 'crassus' meaning "thick" that refers to the thick plump leaves of many of the genus. The specific epithet meaning 4-angled comes from the arrangement of leaves (phyllotaxy) in four distinct ranks. This plant has long been in cultivation and its name credited to Linnaeus, the "father of taxonomy" himself. According to Hortus Kewensis Volume 1 published in 1789 this plant was introduced in 1714 by Cambridge Professor of Botany Richard Bradley and Encyclopaedia Londinensis Volume 5 published in 1810 also has this date of introduction though Gordon Rowley in his book, Crassula: A Growers Guide published in 2003 notes that Bradley introduced it in 1711 . There are at least 6 subspecies and cultivars that have been cultivated. It is commonly called the Miniature Pine Tree, Mini Pine Tree or just Pine Tree.
This information about Crassula tetragona displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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