Baby Sunrose

Baby Sunrose (Aptenia cordifolia) is the groundcover for the bank that nothing else will hold. It runs flat at about 150mm high and spreads 800mm or more from each plant, with fleshy heart shaped leaves and small magenta pink flowers that open whenever the sun is on them. Planted 400mm apart it closes bare ground in a season, on poor soil and little water.

Why you'll love it

• It covers ground quickly. Fast growing and self layering, so trailing stems root as they go and the bed knits together instead of staying separate plants.
• Poor soil suits it fine. Sand, gravel, thin fill over clay, the top of a retaining wall: it manages where compost has never been dug in.
• Very low water. The succulent leaves store their own moisture, so it survives dry spells and heat that flatten conventional groundcovers.
• Salt tolerant and safe around pets. It handles coastal exposure, and it is not toxic to cats or dogs, so it works in a yard where animals lie about on the beds.

Where it works best

Slopes, retaining walls and rockeries. Plant 400mm apart across the face of a bank. The rooting stems bind loose soil against runoff, and cascading over a block wall it softens the edge within a season. Between rocks and pavers it threads through gaps and suppresses weeds.

Coastal and arid gardens. It grows across tropical, subtropical, warm temperate, Mediterranean and arid districts, one of the few covers that suits Cairns and Kalgoorlie alike.

Know the trade off. Vigour is the point of this plant and also its drawback. It runs into lawn and past a bed edge if you let it, and it must be kept away from bushland boundaries.

Growing baby sunrose in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun. The flowers only open in direct sunlight, and in shade the growth stretches and thins. It handles light frost but not hard frost, so cold southern districts should expect winter damage and a spring recovery.

Soil. Almost anything that drains. Poor soil is genuinely preferred, because rich beds produce soft leggy growth. On clay, use a raised bed or work coarse sand through the top 200mm.

Water and feed. Water weekly for the first six to eight weeks while the roots take, then only in long dry spells. A light dose of controlled release fertiliser in spring is the most it needs.

Maintenance. Shear the edges back two or three times a year to keep it inside the bed, and cut over the whole planting if it builds up. It reshoots readily from cut stems.

What to expect when it arrives

It is sold in 140mm pots in packs of ten, the practical unit for a groundcover: ten plants at 400mm centres cover roughly one and a half square metres. Each arrives as an established rooted clump with trailing stems, ready to go straight into the ground.

Succulent stems travel well, though a few may snap in transit. That is not a loss, because broken pieces pushed into damp soil will root. Soak the bed after planting, keep it damp for the first month, then step back. Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95, and every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Choosing the right groundcover for your garden
• Browse the full groundcover range
• Compare plants for retaining walls and slopes
• See what suits a rockery or gravel garden

Common questions

How quickly will it cover the ground?

At 400mm centres, with water for the first couple of months, expect a bed to close over one warm season. Growth slows through winter and picks up as the soil warms.

Will it take over the garden?

It can. This is a vigorous spreader that creeps into lawn and past a bed edge unless it is trimmed a few times a year, and it should be kept away from bushland and waterways.

Can I walk on it?

Only occasionally. The stems are brittle and it will not take regular foot traffic, so treat it as a groundcover rather than a lawn substitute.