Calico Kitten Crassula: How To Grow Calico Kitten Plants

(Image credit: MichelR45)

Calico Kitten crassula (Crassula pellucida 'Variegata') is a pretty little succulent with heart-shaped leaves marked with rosy pink, creamy white, and green. Dainty white flowers bloom in spring and occasionally throughout the season. Calico Kitten plants are easy to grow indoors or out. They look great in rock gardens, hanging baskets, and xeriscapes. Read on and learn how to grow Calico Kittens.

Growing a Calico Kitten Plant

Calico Kitten crassula requires plenty of sunlight but should be planted where it isn’t blasted by direct sun on hot afternoons. You’ll find that Calico Kitten succulents are especially pretty in dappled or filtered light where their colors can shine through. Like all succulents, Calico Kitten plants require fast-draining soil. Indoor plants do well in a potting mix formulated for cacti and succulents, or a blend of regular potting mix and sand.

Caring for Calico Kitten Plants

Keep the soil moist for new Calico Kitten succulents. Once established, the plants are drought-hardy and require water only occasionally. Beware of overwatering, as succulents are likely to rot in soggy conditions. Too dry is always better than too wet. Water indoor plants sparingly during the winter months, only when the leaves look slightly shriveled. Fertilize Calico Kitten in containers three or four times per year, but always during the growing season and never in winter. Use a water-soluble fertilizer mixed to half strength. Outdoor specimens planted in the ground rarely need fertilizer, but a little compost is always a good idea. Calico Kitten stems are fragile. If one breaks, just stick it in the soil and grow a new plant. Even a single leaf will grow a new plant. You can also propagate a new plant by dividing mature plants or by separating and planting offshoots (pups) that grow from the base.

Mary H. Dyer
Writer

A Credentialed Garden Writer, Mary H. Dyer was with Gardening Know How in the very beginning, publishing articles as early as 2007.