In my last post, Still, I profiled a Neon Skimmer resting on the newly emerged bud of my Manfreda undulata, ‘Chocolate Chip’. When I took the photo, the stem was about 12 inches from the base of the plant.

Well, it grew, seemingly reaching for some of the cottony white clouds ubiquitous to the Austin sky.

And then it grew some more!

Each late spring, this charming cultivar sends up its bloom stalk at the beginning of May. I don’t know exactly how tall it gets each spring as I’m not about to grab the ladder and measure, but it’s at least 6 feet in height as it opens its small flowers over the course of a week or two.

I planted a native Texas Tuberose, Manfreda maculosa, years ago, but it didn’t fare well in my part-shade garden. I decided to try this cultivar relative when my front garden became fully under the blast of the Texas sun. Additionally, I’ve kept it in a pot, where it seems reasonably happy.

The ‘Chocolate Chip’ part of the name hales from the plentiful dots that fill the succulent’s foliage. Sage green foliage is complemented by eggplant-purple chips dotted generously on wavy leaves. This is a plant that is always interesting to observe.

I haven’t yet pruned the stalk, I’ll get around to that in time. The manfreda is an attractive plant year-round, weathering summer’s heat and winter freezes with little care. I douse with water, as needed, in summer, covering the plant when ice threatens during winter. Then I wait–with the skimmers, butterflies, and birds–for the emergence of the bloom stalk, the rapid growth upwards to the sky, and the opening of the flowers against the blue sky.