Senecio Angel Wings, also referred to as the Candicans Senecio, is a tender perennial with stunning silvery-white foliage like the popular dusty miller (Senecio cineraria). This plant belongs to the Asteraceae family and originated from South America. This head-turner makes an outstanding focal point in containers and landscapes and has fantastic impulse appeal.
I. Appearance and Characteristics
This low-maintenance houseplant is mostly grown for its silvery-white foliage that’s capable of reaching about 10-12 inches tall. It’s no wonder why it has a prepossessing name “Angel Wings”, and stands as the most popular among other varieties in the Asteraceae family. The succulent hails from South America and stays green throughout the seasons. Its broad foliage is perfect for both indoors and outdoors, while the leaves tend to look fleshy even under bare-bones routine maintenance. Other common names for the Candicans Senecio plant include:
- Sea Cabbage
- Senaw
- Marine cineraria
You can use this stunning succulent for ground cover since it somewhat tolerates the full sun, but it would be best to grow your Candicans Senecio under some filtered light. The leaves have a noticeable zigzag pattern on the edges that make the foliage truly sensational and the plant is capable of being treated as an annual when grown in cold winter regions.
II. How to Grow and Care
Sunlight
Senecio candicans ‘Angel Wings’ can be grown in either full sun or partial shade. It may also be able to tolerate some full shade.
It needs six hours of sunlight per day to thrive, so place it in a location that receives a lot of natural light.
The plant can take full sun but will do better with at least a little shade during the hottest parts of summer. Provide it with some morning or afternoon shade in hot locations to avoid scorching its leaves.
This Senecio is not very demanding when it comes to light levels and should grow indoors as long as there are windows that get plenty of natural sunlight.
It also does well outdoors, where it is exposed to direct sun for part of the day.
The Senecio candicans ‘Angel Wings’ succulent prefers partial shade rather than no shading, so make sure you provide this before transplanting outside permanently.
A few hours of exposure per day to bright indirect light (such as from a window) would suffice for indoor Senecios.
Temperature and Humidity
Temperature and humidity are the two significant factors affecting Senecio candicans ‘Angel Wings’ growth.
They can be controlled with a combination of natural sunlight, shade cloths or trees, and open windows in the evening for coolness.
The ideal temperature range is from 65-85 degrees Fahrenheit (18-30 Celsius).
The optimum relative humidity should be between 60% – 80%.
One way to achieve this is by using large clay pots, which hold water better than plastic ones because they dry more slowly.
It’s also important to use soil that holds moisture well, like cacti mix or compost soil blend.
Watering
When this perennial flowering plant is at its early sprouting stages, it would need regular watering. Once it hits maturity, you want to slow down a bit on the watering intervals since it will naturally be drought tolerant. You only need to water your Angel Wings when the temperatures are hot and dry, especially during the summer season. And if it’s growing outdoors, you’ll need to water it almost daily when the warm season kicks in.
Try as much to avoid overwatering as it could cause the roots to rot. Wait for the soil to dry up completely before watering your Senecio Angel Wing again. During winter when most of the growth hormones are dormant, you need to cut back the watering intervals drastically. Keep the growing pot near the sunniest windowsill to help the topsoil dry up much faster.
Soil
Senecio Angel Wings are very tolerant of soil and water conditions but will benefit from a sandy soil mix that provides good drainage for their roots.
A succulent-friendly planting medium like cacti/succulent potting mix should work well (it has more aggregate than regular potting soils) and enable better aeration around the plant’s roots when appropriately watered.
It doesn’t have to be sterile, but if you grow in regular potting soil, add some perlite or coarse sand to the mix.
This will help with drainage and aeration of the roots.
A 50% – 75% mixture of succulent planting mediums such as cacti/succulent potting substrate is recommended for these plants because they do not have root systems that grow deep into the ground like desert cacti varieties typically found in xeriscape gardens.
Fertilizing
Your Senecio Angel Wing plant will need to be fed during a growing season to get lush foliage. Use water-soluble fertilizer with a mid-range nitrogen composition. And it’s often recommended that the ppm needs to fall anywhere between 150 to 200. For light organic feeding, you can use manure tea or fish emulsion. Both offer an instant boost to the overall health of your Senecio Angel plants.
Pruning
Pruning Senecio candicans ‘Angel Wings’ is a great way to keep it compact and healthy.
After it has flowered and senesced (no new leaves will grow), cut off any dead or dying branches in the early spring.
Prune back to a healthy stem, ensuring that you always cut above a leaf node on an upright stem.
Propagation
Senecio candicans ‘Angel Wings’ can be propagated by cuttings and seeds.
Cuttings
One way to propagate Senecio Angel Wings is by taking cuttings.
- First, be sure to trim a healthy Senecio plant.
- Cut off a piece of the stem that has at least three or four nodes on it and is about eight inches long.
- Allow the cutting to callus over for a few days before planting.
- Keep it well-drained, providing ample water and bright light.
- Keep the soil moist for at least two weeks to encourage rooting.
After a few months, Senecio cuttings can be removed from their pots and planted in larger containers or outdoors once they have rooted.
Seeds
Another way of propagating Senecio candicans ‘Angel Wings’ is through seeds.
Take some seed pods and plant these into sterile soil for growing succulents – you can also dry out the pods before planting them, if they are fresh enough!
Keep an eye on watering, sunlight exposure (give plenty), temperature, etc.; otherwise, wait patiently for growth to begin!
Make sure that once planted into containers, each one has individual space around its base so they grow happily and healthy, sprawling outwards.
You can also try planting Senecio seeds in the ground! This is a little more difficult to do as they need light to germinate – but it’s worth trying if you have space available outside your home where Senecios could grow.
Potting and Repotting
Once your plant has grown too big for its pot, you will need to repot it.
There are many ways to do this, and the perfect method depends on your soil mix.
If you are going to plant a cactus or succulent, you need to remove the old soil. Cut off any dead roots with sharp scissors. Take care of any pests that might be hiding in the crevices during transport.
Then put it into a new pot with fresh soil.
It’s important to use a pot with drainage holes. This will allow the soil to stay light and not compact as much, which helps ensure proper airflow around the root system.
The hole size should be less than an inch wide but more than just a pinhole so water can drain away quickly without causing too much sogginess or slope for your plant’s roots.
If you are going to plant in the ground, then be sure that there is plenty of room for roots and stem tissue.
Gently loosen up and break any clumps before planting so they can breathe freely without being compacted together or smothered by too much soil.
Water thoroughly after repotting your plants, but don’t overwater them, as this may cause root rot!
Pests and Diseases
There aren’t any serious threats that this plant is prone to. But you’ll often need to watch out for mealybugs and snails. You also need to regulate the moisture and humidity levels throughout the seasons, to keep the plant from any adverse effects. Most newbie gardeners might get tempted to neglect its watering needs since the plant is somewhat drought tolerant, and that would cause the leaves to appear pale.
You might spot some abrasion marks—usually brown in color—on the leaves if your Candicans Senecio plant is exposed to strong winds for too long. Some blotches might also appear if it’s growing under intense heat. When running the routing maintenance, check out for any greasy residue on the underside of the leaves. That could be a sign of spider mites’ infestation. Snout weevils also tend to leave some dark patches on the leaf axils.
If the leaves seem to experience some distorted growth, it could be as a result of aphids or thrips. These two pests suck the juices of younger leaves and flower stems. A quick remedy for this would be to let any beneficial insects live around the plant or use neem oil on the affected areas.
Overwintering
As Senecio Angel Wings succulent plants are from the desert region, they need a dry winter.
This plant is not frost tolerant, so it should be brought back into the house before temperatures drop below 32°F (0°C).
It’s better to keep them inside and place them near a window or under grow lights if you plan on keeping these plants alive through the winter months.
If you cannot keep the Angel Wings Senecio inside, they should be brought into an unheated garage or greenhouse.
It’s essential that it is dry and has excellent air circulation so that Senecio candicans ‘Angel Wings’ doesn’t rot from dampness.
In this case, cut back on watering until conditions improve in springtime.
III. Uses and Benefits
This plant looks beautiful when used in mixed succulent containers with other house plants, with visual interest in patio pots, borders, houseplants, and beds.
Its unique texture and color mix well with other annuals and perennials in the garden.
It also works well in a solitary container planting on a balcony, patio, office desk, or office décor.
It works great both as an outdoor plant in bright sun and as a house plant.
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