This article was written by guest author Dan Songster and was previously published in the February 2022 OCCNPS newsletter.

• What: Dudleya viscida, Sticky Dudleya, Sticky Live-forever
• Type: Succulent
• Light: Full sun anywhere near the coast. Appreciates afternoon shade inland.
• Soil: Well drained (but adaptable to clay soils amended with pumice and/or decomposed granite)
• Water: Drought tolerant
• Common Habitat: Rocky areas in Coastal Sage Scrub, Chaparral. (Does well on cliff sides facing east and north). 

Late April in 2012 was a warm and sunny blue-sky day, perfect for hiking into the Santa Ana Mountains on an OCCNPS field trip. These trips were always a welcome adventure and this one ended up in Upper Hot Springs Canyon. Ron Vanderhoff was leading, and he had obviously done his homework, for as we passed certain plants we stopped, got a brief history, and examined them.

It is such fun to see a plant in the wild you have grown at home (or tried to grow) and to see what conditions they thrive in out there. We started out slipping through a shady oak woodland edged with grassland including various wildflowers including owl’s clover, both colors of coast baby-star, wine cup clarkia, and the always cheerful Johnny jump-ups. 

As we transitioned to the coastal sage, we enjoyed up close the minty San Miguel savory. This was a first for me to see this lovely little rambler in the wild and in bloom no less! With foothill yucca dotting the hillsides around and above us, we passed through the pungent white sage, followed the creek enjoying various blue bells, chia, blue dicks, paint brush, and more. As the canyon narrowed, bunch grasses arched over boulders and a veritable forest of common meadow rue stood along the trail–simply lush.

After a wonderful morning of discovery, we reached our turn around/lunch spot on the edges of the creek we had been following. The water flowed down a face of stone some 25 feet or so into a pool beneath us. That pool had California newts in it and as some scrambled down to inspect them, I sat and had my lunch in one of those quiet spots one always remembers.

All around our lunch spot were the most impressive and lovely green Dudleyas with leaves like the Lady Finger Dudleya (D. edulis) but larger and bright green. Wedged into cracks, spilling from the cliff edges, and growing in various depressions, these were the Dudleya viscida often called Sticky Liveforever. They were not in bloom but last year’s dried flowers stalks showed the general size and width of what must have been a gorgeous display, 10 months earlier.

Although it is ranked as a California Rare Plant (it’s rank is 1B.2 -rare, threatened, or endangered in CA and elsewhere) it was abundant here in this rocky canyon and while others scrambled down to get photos of the newts, I sat against a comfortable rock and took in the beauty of this unexpected succulent whose green leaves were tinged with red likely due to cooler evening temperatures in the weeks prior to our visit.

Some of the Dudleyas were growing in shallow depressions in the rocks with no more than a few inches of soil. This made me think of growing it in containers and like many other Dudleyas, it has excelled in the confined spaces of a pot with very little care. A decade later it is still one of my favorite Dudleyas and I still have it in the original pots. When I see mine in bloom I often think of that magical field trip!

More information about this wonderful plant can be gleaned from an article written by Steve McCabe, a Dudleya expert (and rock climber) from the Santa Cruz Arboretum. The article was titled simply Dudleya viscida and was published in the 2006 Pacific Horticulture Journal:

“In the light of a warm day you can see (and smell) that Dudleya viscida has attractive lime-green, shiny foliage, with a unique aroma that reminds some people of pines. (Roger Raiche, former Director of UC Botanic Garden, Berkeley thinks its fragrance is “like citrus”). It is one of the easier dudleyas to grow, perhaps because it kills some of its enemies. The viscid leaves are sticky enough usually to deter sucking pests like mealy bugs and aphids. However, one must be careful when repotting and weeding not to get dirt on the leaves; otherwise they will retain some dirt until replaced by new leaves. The species seems more resistant to fungal problems than most other members of the genus.”

“Dudleya viscida is an excellent, easy plant for a well-drained rock garden in a mild-climate region. A single rosette can be 3-9 inches across and about as tall, though shaded plants may be larger. Older, branched plants can eventually become over a foot in diameter. If it is grown with more water-loving plants, a collar of gravel near the crown may prevent fungal problems. Dudleya can be started remarkably easily from seed and fairly easily from cuttings. Surface-sow the seeds, without covering them with any soil or sand, and you should have hundreds from a single plant. In spite of this ease, they are not weedy. Though there are some with paler flowers, the choice forms have rose-pink flowers. With open floral clusters a few inches across, a 6-inch diameter plant may have several stalks at once, providing a hemisphere of blossoms for two to three months. They are some of my favorite plants for planting in a relatively dry rock garden.”

—Stephen McCabe is Coordinator of Research and Education at the Arboretum, University of California at Santa Cruz.

NOTE: For those Dudleya lovers out there who only grow the chalk dudleyas and other silver-leaved species, I recommend you try Dudleya viscida for the reasons mentioned above. Our friends at Tree of Life Nursery currently have this plant in stock!