Donkey's Tail

Where you really have to treat your donkey's tail with care is while handling it. Its eye-catching beaded stems are actually extremely fragile and can break off with even the slightest touch. For that reason, it's best to choose a sunny spot to place or hang your donkey's tail succulent and then, quite literally, forget about it.

Light

As with many succulents, donkey's tail thrives best with lots of warm sunlight. If you're choosing to house your plant indoors, opt for a sunny windowsill that boasts several hours of daily light. If you're growing your succulent outdoors, place it in a pot or spot in your garden that gets plenty of morning sunlight but is partially shaded during the more aggressive afternoon hours to avoid scorching its beaded leaves. If you notice your plant turning grey or a very dull green (rather than its typical rich blue-green), that's probably a sign that it's getting too much harsh light.

Soil

In order for your donkey's tail succulent to grow successfully, it should be housed in well-draining, sandy soil. If you plan to plant your succulent in a container (either to keep outdoors or to live inside), opt for a gritty soil mixture suited specifically for cacti or succulents. If you're including it as part of a larger garden, be sure to choose a spot amongst other plants that prefer well-drained soil, as too much retained water will cause it to die (you can even consider mixing sand into your ground soil to aid in drainage). Additionally, donkey's tail thrives in soil with a neutral to acidic pH of around 6.0, but isn't too picky in this regard.

Water

Allow the soil to dry thoroughly between waterings to avoid root rot, and then water well. Cut back on watering during the fall and winter months when the plant goes into dormancy.

Fertilizer

While fertilizing donkey's tail succulent isn't totally necessary to its successful growth, it also won't hurt and can be a great way to give the plant added nutrients. Focus on feeding your plant at the beginning of its grow season in spring, using a controlled release, balanced 20-20-20 fertilizer, which contains equal parts nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.

Mature succulents may prefer the fertilizer at one-quarter strength, while younger plants may prefer fertilizer with less nitrogen.

Potting and Repotting

Because of their fragile nature, great care should be taken to never repot a donkey's tail succulent unless absolutely necessary. Do so, and you risk losing many of your "tails" to jostling and replanting. However, if you must repot your succulent, you will find the most success in the warmer months. Make sure the soil is completely dry before beginning, then gently remove the succulent from its current vessel, knocking away any old soil from the roots of the plant. Place it in a new pot and backfill with soil, making sure to spread out the roots in the new, larger pot. Allow it to "rest" for a week or so before giving it its first watering in its new home.

Propagating String of Dolphins

Like most succulents, donkey's tail is easy to propagate through its leaves, which is good news, as they seem to fall off at the slightest touch. If you notice your plant has shed some of its beaded leaves recently, simply put them aside until the skin has scabbed over, about two to three days. From there, you can insert the leaves into a new pot filled with cacti or succulent soil mixture, leaving about half of each leaf exposed above the soil line. Water regularly (about once a week) until you see new growth start to emerge.

Toxicity

A donkey's tail plant is the common name for Sedum Morgiana and is non-poisonous houseplant.