WateringTimesWatering plan, $19
Kalanchoe beauverdii, WUCOLS IV

How often to water Beauverd's widow's-thrill in California

In July on the south coast, established Beauverd's widow's-thrill in loam needs a deep watering about every 27 days: about 2.2 gallons each time for a plant 2 feet across, about 0.6 gallons a week. Beauverd's widow's-thrill is an unusual succulent climber from dry shrublands of southern Madagascar. Wiry gray stems twine and clamber 4 to 8 feet, carrying narrow, dark purple-black succulent leaves in widely spaced pairs. Dangling clusters of purple-tinged gray-green flowers appear in winter and spring. It likes warmth, dry winters and only occasional water.

VineSucculentRated for 1 of 6 zones

How often to water Beauverd's widow's-thrill, month by month

Your city
Plant width
2 ft
Your soil

Type your city above and the days between waterings and the gallons appear here, worked out from your city's climate table. Or read the figures by climate zone further down.

Every month, on your water days. The personal plan prints this for Beauverd's widow's-thrill and the rest of your yard, on the days your water supplier allows.Get the plan for $19

How this is worked out: established roots fill the top 1.5 feet of soil, and you water again when that soil has dried halfway. Loam soil holds about 1.5 inches of water per foot. Water the whole area the plant covers, and skip a watering after a good soaking rain.

Which soil do you have?

Dig down a few inches, take a handful of moist soil and squeeze it.

  • Sandy: gritty, falls apart when you open your hand, will not form a ball.
  • Loam: forms a soft ball that crumbles when you poke it.
  • Clay: forms a firm, sticky ball and squeezes out into a ribbon between thumb and finger.

Still not sure? Pick loam. Most garden beds sit between sand and clay.

How to measure plant width

A shrub with its width marked from one side to the other and the circle under it shaded blue

Measure across the plant, from the tips of the leaves on one side to the tips on the other.

Water the whole area the plant covers, shown in blue. The gallons here cover that area.

A wider plant means more gallons each watering, not more waterings. While it is young, measure again each spring.

How to tell it needs water

  • Succulent leaves on Beauverd's widow's-thrill wrinkling while the soil is dry all the way down mean it needs a drink
  • Stems going soft and black at the base in wet soil point to rot from overwatering
  • Leaves damaged after a night near 25 degrees F point to cold stress
  • Plantlets sprouting in nearby pots are normal and easy to pull

How to water it

  • Water deeply only when the soil is dry well below the surface
  • Plant in full coastal sun or light shade in fast-draining soil
  • Give the stems a trellis, shrub or railing to twine through
  • Keep it as dry as you can in winter
  • Pull stray plantlets that drop into nearby pots

Through the seasons

Water a new plant lightly until it roots in. After that it needs little water, since its succulent leaves store moisture. It is evergreen and flowers in winter and spring. It prefers dry winters, so steady winter rain and cold below about 25 degrees F are its main risks. WUCOLS rates Beauverd's widow's-thrill low water on the south coast. WUCOLS marks it as not suited to the Central Valley. WUCOLS has not evaluated it for the north-central coast, South Inland, the high desert or the low desert.

In pots

Beauverd's widow's-thrill grows well in a pot with a small trellis or a railing to climb. Use a gritty, fast-draining succulent mix. Water only when the mix is dry all the way through, then let it drain fully. In summer, check every few days. Never leave water in the saucer. In winter, water rarely, keep it out of steady rain and protect it from frost.

1 Your climate zone six WUCOLS zones, each from its own reference city
Not ratedWUCOLS does not rate Beauverd's Widow's-Thrill for the Central Valley zone
A year
no figure
Reference
Sacramento climate table
Counts
Plant need, before sprinkler losses

WUCOLS lists Beauverd's Widow's-Thrill as not suited to this region for the Central Valley zone, so no monthly figure is computed here.

Monthly water need by climate zone

Beauverd's Widow's-Thrill: gallons per square foot per month, by WUCOLS climate zone

MonthN. CoastC. ValleyS. CoastS. InlandHi DesertLo Desert
Jan––0.31–––
Feb––0.32–––
Mar––0.46–––
Apr––0.56–––
May––0.64–––
Jun––0.69–––
Jul––0.79–––
Aug––0.74–––
Sep––0.6–––
Oct––0.46–––
Nov––0.33–––
Dec––0.26–––
Year––6.2–––

How this is worked out: the WUCOLS water rating for each zone times that zone’s climate for the month. A dash means WUCOLS does not rate the plant there. The figures are what the plant uses, before sprinkler losses.

Plants with the same water needs 16

Rated not suited to this region in the Central Valley, like Beauverd's widow's-thrill. Plants that drink alike can share one valve and one schedule.

Golden Trumpet VineAllamanda catharticanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingPelican FlowerAristolochia giganteanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingPoinsettiaEuphorbia pulcherrimanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingWax PlantHoya carnosanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingFlame VinePyrostegia venustanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingCup-of-Gold VineSolandra maximanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingOrgan Pipe CactusStenocereus thurberi (Lemaireocereus thurberi)not rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingMadagascar JasmineStephanotis floribundanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingBlack-Eyed Susan VineThunbergia alatanot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingSky Flower VineThunbergia grandifloranot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingCoral VineAntigonon leptopusnot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingCandelabra TreeEuphorbia ingensnot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingMilk BushEuphorbia tirucallinot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingBoojumFouquieria columnarisnot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingOcotilloFouquieria splendensnot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley ratingJoshua TreeYucca brevifolianot rated, Central Valleyno Central Valley rating
Minutes for your sprinklers

Turn this into minutes on your water days

Every city page has a calculator that takes Beauverd's widow's-thrill, your sprinkler type and the month, and gives the minutes per water day for that supplier's schedule. Or put it in a zone of the personal watering plan and get all twelve months printed.

Questions people ask

How much water does Beauverd's widow's-thrill need per day?

In July on the south coast, established Beauverd's widow's-thrill needs about 0.1 gallons a day for a plant 2 feet across and about 0.3 gallons a day for a plant 4 feet across. Give it in deep waterings spread days apart rather than a little every day, so the whole root zone gets wet.

Does watering for Beauverd's widow's-thrill change across California?

Yes. WUCOLS rates Beauverd's widow's-thrill separately for each of the six California climate zones: not evaluated in the North-Central Coastal zone, not suited to this region in the Central Valley zone, low water in the South Coastal zone, not evaluated in the South Inland zone, not evaluated in the High and Intermediate Desert zone, not evaluated in the Low Desert zone. The monthly table above shows how the same rating translates into different gallon amounts as reference evapotranspiration changes.

Is Beauverd's widow's-thrill poisonous?

It is flagged as possibly poisonous. Keep it away from pets that chew plants. Wear gloves if you handle it often.

Is it a vine or a succulent?

Both. It is a succulent with wiry stems that twine and clamber like a vine. It is also sold as Bryophyllum beauverdii.

What do its flowers look like?

The flowers hang down in clusters at the stem tips. They are gray-green tinged with purple. They appear in winter and spring.

Does it spread on its own?

It drops plantlets, mostly into nearby pots. They are easy to pull out. You can pot a few to share.

Where can it grow outdoors?

It has thrived outdoors in a Santa Barbara garden. It survived nights near 25 degrees F there but prefers warmer winters. Mild coastal sites suit it.

More plant watering guides

Giant Bird of ParadiseMarmalade BushPainted DaisyBlack-Eyed Susan VineSky Flower VineWandering JewMoses-in-the-CradleWhite Clover

Sources