Plant Care Library

Other Names:  Cigar Plant

Description:

An interesting and beautiful succulent variety, producing narrow, cylindrical, and segmented stems that reach upward, with tiny leaves; leafless during summer dormancy; a perfect accent in rock gardens, containers, or massed

Ornamental Features

Swizzle Sticks's attractive tiny succulent pointy leaves emerge chartreuse in spring, turning olive green in color the rest of the year on a plant with an upright spreading habit of growth. It features dainty lightly-scented white flowers with yellow anthers at the ends of the stems from mid fall to mid winter. The grayish green stems are very colorful and add to the overall interest of the plant.

Landscape Attributes

Swizzle Sticks is an open herbaceous evergreen perennial with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its medium texture blends into the garden, but can always be balanced by a couple of finer or coarser plants for an effective composition.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and usually looks its best without pruning, although it will tolerate pruning. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Swizzle Sticks is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Swizzle Sticks will grow to be about 4 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 24 inches. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 10 years. As an evegreen perennial, this plant will typically keep its form and foliage year-round. As this plant tends to go dormant in summer, it is best interplanted with late-season bloomers to hide the dying foliage.

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers dry to average moisture levels with very well-drained soil, and will often die in standing water. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for a low-water garden or xeriscape application. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This species is not originally from North America. It can be propagated by division.

Swizzle Sticks is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. With its upright habit of growth, it is best suited for use as a 'thriller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the center of the pot, surrounded by smaller plants and those that spill over the edges. It is even sizeable enough that it can be grown alone in a suitable container. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.