Senecio candidans Angel Wings ['Senaw'] PP28,830 (Angel Wings Sea Cabbage) - A rosette forming tender evergreen perennial that grows to about 16 inches tall by slightly wider with multiple levels of bright white broad heart shaped leaves measuring about 7 inches long by 5 inches wide that have small blunt dentations along the slightly undulating leaf margins and a leaf surface with dense short hairs, giving it a velvety texture. Though grown more as a foliage plant, a short tightly branching inflorescence of yellow rayless flowers may appear from the center of the plant in summer.
Plant in cool coastal full sun, part sun or brightly lit shade in a well-drained soil. Give regular to occasional irrigation - a bit more tolerant of a missed watering once established but those who have grown it longer note it better with irrigation and it does seem to suffer in the heat of inland situations in southern California. Cold hardy to at least down to 15°F and useful as a perennial in USDA Zones 8 and above but can be brought indoors for protection or treated as a summer annual in colder climates. It is also tolerant of near seashore conditions. Treat for snails and slugs to prevent them from marring the large leaves, which they really like to do. The Royal Horticultural Society notes that this plant may be effected by a fungal rust disease and this has been verified by observations during our 2020 wet early spring in California when rusty brown patches were observed on the undersides of the leaves - drier conditions, full sun and good air circulation may help prevent this. This is a beautiful plant to contrast darker foliage in the garden, in a mixed container planting or a solitary potted specimen with leaves that you just want to touch!
Senecio Angel Wings was introduced by Matías Avendaño of Floricultura Novazel in Puerto Montt, Chile as a seedling selection made in 2010 that resulted from open pollination of the South American plant that in horticulture has often been referred to as Senecio candicans. It was selected for its fast growth of silky, silvery white foliage and its relative drought and salt tolerance.
This plant has been marketed as a selection of Senecio candicans but this is actually the specific name of a little grown plant from India first described by the Danish surgeon and botanist Nathaniel Wallich in 1834. This South American species, which ranges from southern Chile southeast along the Straits of Magellan across Argentina to the Islas Malvinas (Falkland Islands), was originally described by the Danish botanist Jens Vahl in 1794 as Cacalia candicans and was renamed Senecio candidans by the eminent Swiss botanist Augustin Pyramus de Candolle in 1838 when including it in the genus Senecio, making the slight change in spelling of the specific epithet quite likely because of knowledge of the existence of the previously named plant from India. There is an excellent article about this in the 2011 Royal Horticultural Society's scientific journal Hanburyana 5: 8–10 (2011) by C.M. Whitehouse titled "The correct name for the South American Senecio (sea cabbage)". The name "candicans" means "becoming white" from the Latin word 'candic' that means "white" or "whitish" while 'candidans' means "very white" from Latin root word 'candid'. This plant was introduced into the European plant market in 2017 after winning a Bronze Medal at the Netherlands Plantarium 2016. It also won the Glee New Product Award in 2017. It received US Plant Patent PP28,830 in December 2017 and is being marketed in the US by Concept Plants. We grew this great looking plant from 2019 until 2023. Images on this page courtesy of Peter Van Rijssen of Concept Plants.
The information about Senecio candidans Angel Wings ['Senaw'] PP28,830 displayed on this web page is based on our research conducted in the nursery's horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also include observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share cultural information that would aid others in growing this plant. |