Crossing over the famous Nizami Street to Shirvanshah Palace in Old Baku city, on our trip to Azerbaijan, in June this year, my 3-year-old daughter Sarah froze for a second. “Look at these”, she exclaimed. “Baby sun roses are growing here [in Azerbaijan] too!” At the intersection, the street was lined with huge pots about 2 to 3 feet in diameter and height, filled with the shiny, creeping vines of different varieties of the succulent baby sun rose laden with its signature pink flowers. Sarah had previously seen them growing in her balcony in Karachi.

Baby sun rose (Mesembryanthemum cordifolium) is one of the very easy-to-grow, low-maintenance, hardy, plants that belong to the ice-plant family. Native to Africa, it is also known as heartleaf ice-plant (Aptenia cordifolia) and is characterised by beautiful, glossy, green leaves and stunning, shiny pink flowers. This ornamental, hardy plant sustains less watering and neglect, and is a preferred choice among gardeners with little time.

Utmost care should be taken not to grow the baby sun rose plant in the ground or open space, as it is a creeper that quickly occupies the land, forming a carpet and taking away space for other plants to grow. A 4 to 6-inch pot or a hanging pot is a better option to grow baby sun rose. The best time to grow this decorative, trailing succulent is by propagation of its cuttings in February and March.

Before you begin to grow baby sun rose, you need to prepare the soil for the plant cutting to be planted. For this, you need a potting mixture of 60 percent garden soil, locally known as bhal/bhalu matti, and around 30 percent organic compost. The 10 percent will include river sand, vermicompost or pumice, as per availability. Organic compost can be made from kitchen scraps or leaves, it is also available at different nurseries and gardening stores. Since garden soil turns compact with time, pumice helps to keep the soil well drained. In the long run, this prevents fungus from attacking roots of the baby sun rose plant and causing root rot.

This hardy and easy-to-grow perennial is suitable for rockeries and low-maintenance gardens, and looks great in hanging baskets...

Ideal sunlight exposure for the succulent is 6-8 hours daily, but it can be kept both in full, direct sunlight, and in an area with semi-shade. It may even survive in indirect sunlight, especially when indoors. It is recommended that the soil of the plant be kept moist enough in such a way that the soil dries up before the next watering. Not only is the water requirement minimal, it is also important to maintain proper water drainage.

To avoid pest attacks, it is better to spray with an organic pesticide weekly or fortnightly, which can be both purchased from the market or prepared at home. The most common organic pesticide available in the market is the neem oil pesticide; different types of organic pesticides can be developed at home from neem leaves, garlic cloves, onions or pepper. The plant and its flowers are very attractive for bees and butterflies.

Beautiful hanging arrangements and pots with shiny baby sun rose decorate not only balconies and grills, but the entrance, garden and rooms too. While many opt to colour and decorate the pots as per their aesthetic sense, some enthusiasts and environmentalists also prefer making the hanging arrangements of baby sun rose at home from throwaway stuff.

Baby sun rose can be propagated by re-using and recycling plastic bottles, cut into two for two hangings with a drainage hole below, and two holes made at the top to pass the hanging wire or string. The cutting is planted in a fistful of soil or potting mix, and the hanging is hooked to a grill or trellis, where the plant produces shiny, pink flowers in no time. Baby sun roses are purple, red, golden and yellow as well.

Chefs and cooks use its edible leaves for salads and exotic food. The leaves have a flavour close to the taste of a tarty green apple.

For new gardeners, who feel that they love gardening but do not have enough time or energy to invest in gardening protocols, baby sun rose is a rewarding succulent to begin with.

Please send your queries and emails to kalishahid@hotmail.com. The writer is a physician and a host for the YouTube channel ‘DocTree Gardening’ promoting organic kitchen gardening

Published in Dawn, EOS, August 28th, 2022