(buh-kin-NICH-ee-uh  ka-BUL-ee-kah)

General Information:

Bukiniczia cabulica is one of the cutest rock garden plants you can grow. Its flowers are reported to be pink, but all I see is a tan colour. This does not really matter because you don’t grow it for the flowers. This plant is all about leaves which are a mottled blue green.

Bukiniczia cabulica, first year seedlings (1/4" rock) :photo by Robert Pavlis

It is easy to grow from seed and it self-seeds near the mother plant which is a good thing since it’s monocarpic. It will grow for 2-3 years, flower and then die.

Bukiniczia cabulica, 3 year old plant flowering in summer :photo by Robert Pavlis

The pictures show my plants at varying ages, originally grown from ORG&HPS seeds. This year three of the four plants flowered and started dying immediately. The fourth got even larger, and is now making offsets. I am hoping they will survive after the mother flowers next summer. Removing flowers as soon as you see them may extend the life of the plant.

I left the flower stems on the plant until they were mature and within a month I started seeing new seedlings forming. By fall they were about a cm in diameter.

Bukiniczia cabulica, 3 year old plant forming offshoots (fall) :photo by Robert Pavlis

Life Cycle: monocarpic

Height: 4 cm (2 in)

Bloom Time: summer

Natural Range: Pakistan and Afghanistan

Habitat: ?

Synonyms:  Aeoniopsis cabulica, Dictyolimon macrorrabdos

Cultivation:

Light: sun

Soil: average to sandy

Water: drought resistant

USDA Hardiness Zone: 5 - 9

Propagation: seed

Seedex availability (ORG&HPS annual Seed Exchange): occasionally