Everest Senecio - Curio Ficoides

Curio Ficoides "Mount Everest" is a succulent plant ideal for beginner gardeners. It has distinctive features that attract the attention of succulent lovers. Its elongated, fleshy, blue-green or blue-grey leaves and upright stems are covered with a chalky layer. It branches near the soil surface and its stems grow upwards and remain compact without support.

The plant rarely flowers when grown indoors. It can produce small white flowers at the tips of the stems if ideal conditions are provided.

If you grow plants outdoors, they are a great choice for ground cover, rock gardens, border plants in flowerbeds and borders, Mediterranean gardens, or home gardens.

If you grow them as houseplants, you can place them in a spot with plenty of light, alongside other succulents and cacti.

How to Care for Curio Ficoides "Mount Everest"

Curio Ficoides "Mount Everest"

Light

The Curio "Mount Everest" prefers very bright locations. Even growing in medium light can cause problems within a few days.

If you are growing your plant indoors, the best placement is in a sunny window. South-facing windows will be the ideal solution. However, if you only have access to windows with less light, such as southwest-facing windows, you may need to rotate your plant every couple of days so that all parts receive enough light.

Outdoors, the plant will thrive in full sun, so a rock garden in the southern corner of the garden would be a great option. It can tolerate partial shade, especially during hot summer days.

If they lack light, the plants will live but suffer, becoming leggy and possibly needing some support. They might even lose their distinctive color.

Growing Medium

This plant, like all succulents, prefers well-draining, neutral to slightly alkaline soil.

If grown as houseplants, they are not too picky when it comes to potting soil. They can grow in regular potting mixes but prefer mixes with added perlite, sand, or other materials to improve drainage.

The roots of the plants are not very deep, but they need something to anchor the plant, which can be quite tall. A good potting mix for succulents and cacti should do the trick. You can also use peat-free compost if it has good drainage and doesn't retain too much water.

It is best to thrive in poor, sandy, neutral, or alkaline soil when grown outdoors.