Crassula Capitella Campfire

Crassula capitella 'Campfire' is a spectacular colour-changing succulent renowned for its brilliant lime-green, golden-orange and fiery red foliage. Commonly known as Campfire Plant or Red Flames, its fleshy, propeller-like leaves are arranged around spreading stems, creating vivid splashes of colour that can become particularly intense when plants are grown in strong light.

Fiery Colour That Changes with the Conditions

The foliage is naturally variable and responds strongly to light, temperature and moisture. In softer growing conditions, new growth can be predominantly fresh lime to yellow-green, often with warm red margins and tips. With increasing sun and suitable environmental stress, the leaves can develop glowing shades of gold, copper, orange and brilliant red, sometimes colouring across almost the entire leaf.

This changing palette is one of the great attractions of 'Campfire'. A single plant can display fresh green growth at its centre while older, more exposed leaves develop increasingly warm orange and red tones, producing the striking flame-like effect for which the cultivar is named. Plants grown with less direct sun or more generous moisture will generally remain greener, while brighter, somewhat drier conditions encourage stronger colour.

Growth Habit & Pruning

Crassula capitella 'Campfire' can be a relatively fast-growing succulent under favourable conditions. Its stems initially grow upwards but can become increasingly long and spreading with age. If left unpruned, older stems may eventually lean or lie across the ground, encouraging lateral growth and allowing the plant to develop into a broad, colourful groundcover.

For container growing, we prefer to tip-prune longer stems to encourage branching and maintain a fuller, bushier plant. 'Campfire' does not always branch freely while its stems are actively elongating, but pruning removes the dominant growing tip and encourages new shoots to develop below the cut. Regular light pruning can therefore transform an increasingly sprawling plant into a much denser specimen with numerous colourful growing tips.

Growing Crassula capitella 'Campfire'

Grow in a free-draining succulent mix with plenty of bright light. Established plants can tolerate strong sun when properly acclimatised, and good light is important for developing the intense orange and red colouring for which 'Campfire' is prized. In very hot Australian conditions, however, plants should be monitored for excessive heat or sun stress, particularly if moving from a protected position into stronger sunlight.

Water thoroughly when required and allow the growing medium to dry appropriately between waterings. Avoid keeping the roots continuously wet. Plants grown in containers are particularly attractive where their spreading stems can be allowed to develop naturally or regularly pruned to maintain a compact form.

Summer Flowers

Mature plants can produce conspicuous clusters of numerous tiny, star-shaped flowers, generally white to creamy-white and sometimes delicately flushed with pink. The flowers are carried above the colourful foliage and can attract bees and other visiting pollinators, adding another dimension to the plant during its flowering period.

Easy to Propagate

'Campfire' is readily propagated from stem cuttings, making pruning an excellent opportunity to produce additional plants. Healthy stem sections can be allowed to callus before being planted into a free-draining succulent mix. Individual leaves may also produce new growth when removed cleanly with their base intact, although stem cuttings are generally the quickest way to establish a substantial new plant.

Also Available in Variegated Form

For an even more colourful variation, we also grow Crassula capitella 'Campfire' Variegata. Its cream-coloured variegation combines with green, pink and red seasonal colouring to create a particularly striking contrast.

Crassula capitella 'Campfire' plants for sale shown in 70mm pot. You will receive same or similar plants as those shown in images. Colours will vary depending on time of year and growing conditions.