Aptenia cordifolia

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Papang
Rhizome
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Joined: Tue Feb 07, 2017 10:21 am

Aptenia cordifolia

#1

Post by Papang »

Aptenia cordifolia (L.f.) Schwantes

Synonyms :
Litocarpus cordifolius (L.f.) L. Bolus
Ludolfia cordifolius (L.f.) L. Bolus
Mesembryanthemum cordifolium L.f.
Tetracoilanthus cordifolius (L.f.) Rappa & Camarrone
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RCDS66
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Joined: Sat Nov 25, 2023 11:21 pm
Location: Islamabad, Pakistan
USDA Zone: 9B

Re: Aptenia cordifolia

#2

Post by RCDS66 »

This is quite a common plant in my area, however, I had no idea how hardy it is untill I planted it at different locations in my hill top house as a ground cover / wall cover. I just bought one plant and planted cuttings at different locations, basically to soften up the castle like stony look of the walls. In couple of years, one small cutting spread in an area of 4-5 feet on ground and another 3-5 feet was hanging on the walls. This was amazing. And it was a fire and forget thing...... I have never water them.... rain fed or may be some spillover water from the neighbouring plants. Most part of the year Aptenia cordifolia produces button like red flowers. There is a variegated version too but it doesn't grow as big as the regular version.
For size reference, cemented pillar on the railing in photo #3 is 3 ft in height.
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Portion of plant on ground
Portion of plant on ground
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Portion of the same plant hanging on the wall. Pillar height 3 ft
Portion of the same plant hanging on the wall. Pillar height 3 ft
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nsp88
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Location: Northeast Texas
USDA Zone: 8a

Re: Aptenia cordifolia

#3

Post by nsp88 »

RCDS66 wrote: Mon Dec 23, 2024 1:47 am I had no idea how hardy it is
I had read they couldn't handle the cold so I kept a small cutting as an experiment and gave the rest away last fall. That small cutting that I started late in the year did really well and survived 13° last winter (with a cover). So I was sure to pick up as much as I could at the plant swaps this year. I have a few different color blooms now. There's a little bit of variation in the leaves of the different plants, also.
Messenger_creation_221E2308-3E26-4611-AB16-59A00EB087E7.jpeg
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Yours hanging over the wall look pretty awesome!
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RCDS66
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Joined: Sat Nov 25, 2023 11:21 pm
Location: Islamabad, Pakistan
USDA Zone: 9B

Re: Aptenia cordifolia

#4

Post by RCDS66 »

This Aptenia looks really cool in yellow color... would love to have one.
And yes, I wanted to have something on the walls in order to soften up their stony, castle like look but wanted to avoid the wall clinging vines like Ficus pumila or Hedera helix. They completely cover the walls and need lot of water to grow well. Aptenia just covers the wall enough to soften up the stony feel, almost needs no watering and survives the hottest and coldest months with ease. It's unbelievable that sometimes these cheap ordinary plants bring such value and comfort to you.
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