Species library › Crassula › Crassula coccinea
Succulents Well documented

Crassula coccinea

A shrubby Cape succulent with stiff, overlapping leaves and flat heads of vivid scarlet flowers in midsummer. It grows among sandstone rocks in the fynbos from the Cape Peninsula to Still Bay. It lives in a cool, misty winter-rainfall climate with dry summers, so it wants full sun, a lean acidic sandy mix, and watering in the cool season rather than in summer heat.

At home, aim for
Day Cool-growingTargets in Plantistry
Night Close to the dayTargets in Plantistry
Humidity Dry airBand in Plantistry
Light Full sunDLI and PPFD in Plantistry
Expects a seasonal restGrows on rock (lithophyte)

Where it grows wild

A small, woody-based shrublet 30–60 cm tall, with erect or sprawling stems. It grows in rocky sandstone fynbos, often in crevices and on ledges where the roots reach moisture held between rocks. Fynbos is open, low vegetation, so the plant stands in full sun and wind. The scarlet flowers are pollinated by the Table Mountain beauty butterfly.

Few records give elevations. The climate sites run from about 300 m to about 1100 m, and the plant is well known from the upper slopes of Table Mountain and nearby Cape mountains down to lower coastal slopes.

Cape Provinces

🔒 Growing it like that

The wild conditions above, turned into targets for a shelf, a tent or a greenhouse. The full profile has:

✓ Day and night temperature targets, and the limits it tolerates
✓ Humidity band, and how to hold it
✓ Light as DLI and PPFD for a grow light
✓ Wet and dry seasons, and whether to rest it
✓ Substrate and airflow
✓ A step-by-step setup to grow it like the wild

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Profiles are drafts built from measured range and climate and from published sources; each section carries its own confidence in the app.