Baby Sun Rose, Appealing as Its Name

Let’s imagine that a name is all you can go by as you select plants for spring and summer. Is Baby Sun Rose top on your list? Baby—Sun—Rose. Sweet, bright, and beautiful. Fortunately, like the name, the plant is all those things. Good pick! You’ve picked a nice one.

The Baby Sun Rose is Aptenia Cordifolia, and you will surely see that scientific name on plant tags and advertisements. But Mesembryanthemum Cordifolium is a newer name for the plant. Even though it is great to be up-to-date and accurate, knowing the ol’ standby name, Aptenia Cordifolia, will likely help you find this plant with greater ease.

On the topic of names, as you know, the extension of Variegata indicates that the plant’s foliage has nice variegation. In the case of the Baby Sun Rose, creamy variegation decorates pale green leaves. This provides a soft-toned base on which bright flowers show beautifully.

Now, be prepared. The Baby Sun Rose is not a plant you’ll take home to a chorus of “oohs” and “aahs”. Despite the fact that it is a good pick—sweet looking, bright, and beautiful—it won’t enter your yard or patio and steal the show. It is somewhat low-growing, and its blooms are petite. It doesn’t make a big splash. But it fills and spills; it spreads rapidly. It is one of those very reliable summertime plants that does good work in plant displays while never being fussy. Old faithful versus show stopper? Perhaps. And isn’t that nice?

The Baby Sun Rose is used a great deal in baskets and containers with good drainage, placed in the sun. The plant’s stems drape over pottery and hanging moss baskets, adding soft color, great texture, and tiny blooms. Certainly, the Baby Sun Rose can do well when planted directly in the garden, but keeping the plant within specific borders is wise, for this plant is considered such a fast spreader that some gardeners may object to its rapid expansion. But in a basket or a plant pot, the spread translates to excellent draping and attractive fullness. The rapid growth is desirable. This is when the Baby Sun Rose starts to get noticed. When other plants in container displays shrink back, stay small, or look weary, the Baby Sun Rose fills the gaps. It’s a lovely plant.

In addition to its spreading habit, the Baby Sun Rose has one characteristic that is worth noting: Its stems can snap quite easily. The stems and foliage are succulent, and that same fleshiness that gives the foliage dimensional appeal and a look that is a little like ceramic… well, that also makes them prone to snapping here and there if gardeners’ hands are rushed and rough when repotting is done. So take note, and take care. Place it in hanging baskets in groupings that are large enough to really be visible in a mix of plants. Some gardeners plant nothing but the Baby Sun Rose in a basket, no mixed display. Either way, this sweet, flowering, reliable plant will make you happy. 

No need to imagine that you can pick out some plants based only on their names. That’s just a bit of a “sayin’ if” sort of game. You can actually see the Baby Sun Rose, in addition to hearing its very appealing moniker. When you do, I think I will take back my comment about “oohs” and “aahs”. You might very well utter those sounds if you see this succulent beauty, all healthy looking and full, with bright flowers. Ooh, it’s a good pick.