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Crambe cordifolia

I recently purchased one from our local nursery because we have a guinea pig we would like to feed. We've grown this back in '05 on the north side of our FL home, and surprisingly it bloomed in the limited light. Right now we have it in full sun. Our piggy should be happy. We'll have photos soon.

My plant in Portland, Oregon has become four plants (I call it the creeping crambe), with eastern exposure only. They bloom beautifully with only morning sun (maybe a bit of filtered afternoon) in acid soil. I do stake the blossom stems, mainly because we get heavy rain or hail about the time they open up. Have had no problem digging and transplanting roots. Because my plants are near a busy sidewalk, crambe blossom time has become a neighborhood event (I've even devised a crambe cocktail in her honor). The scent, however, is a bit putrid.

I see this is listed as to be propagated by seed, but I would like to add that it is easily propagated by root stock division. I had to remove the parent plant last fall, and I have 100% success on each of the pieces of the root stock now growing as a separate plant.

I 've wintersowed seeds january 2004 and planted them out that spring. End of april a stem with flowerbuds has emerged.
I hope it 'll get tall ...as I expect.

I cant get crambe cordifolia to bloom for me. It is planted in a zone 4b in a heavy clay, dry soil. I have replanted some of it in a lighter soil where it also grows but does not flower. it blooms at my friend's also in zone 4b.

Zone 4b, I've had it 3 years, and it has two leaves about 4" across... I keep waiting for it to get big... that's why I bought it. Some catalogs list it only to zone 6... anyway, it's not happy in my garden.

It is interesting that all the literature on Crambe cordifolia list it as hardy to Zone 5, yet my Crambe has been thriving in Zone 4 for eight years.

I often wonder if the seeds germinated at home make for hardier plants.

This is a great plant for back of the border. The foliage is huge with wavy fleshy leaves about 3' long. The flowers are creamy-white and look like a gypsophila on steroids. The flower panicles are honey scented.

This large, round species is 6 feet tall and 4 feet wide. The large flower panicle may need to be staked. Benefits from an alkaline soil.

Native to Caucasus, Iran and Afghanistan.