Sally My Handsome is a sprawling, fleshy-leaved succulent groundcover from the Western Cape of South Africa, grown for its showy pink-purple flowers. It thrives in full sun and sandy, well-drained soil, and is especially at home in mild coastal climates.
Family
Aizoaceae (Ice-plant family)
Grows as
Succulent, Perennial
Light
Full sun
Water
Water deeply but infrequently, letting the soil dry out fully between waterings.
Soil
Sandy or gritty, very well-drained mix.
Temperature
10–30 °C; protect from frost below about 0 °C
How easy
Easy
Safety
Not known to be toxic
Native range
SW. Cape Prov.
Climate
subtropical
About
Carpobrotus acinaciformis (commonly known as Elands sourfig, Elandssuurvy or Sally-my-handsome) is a succulent perennial of the family Aizoaceae, native to South Africa.
How to grow it
The pink or purple flowers are very showy and the plant is frequently cultivated, especially in mild coastal climates. Its fruits are edible and are used in southern Africa to make a traditional jam. In the wild they are grazed by tortoises and other southern African herbivores.
In some areas, such as the south-west of England, it has become naturalised on sea cliffs and can outcompete native species.
Where it grows
This species is naturally endemic to the Western Cape, South Africa.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Carpobrotus acinaciformis by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.