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Blue Chalksticks

Curio repens, Asteraceae

Sources last read 14 September 2026.

Not yet rated How forgiving it is has not been judged here yet.

Also called Blue Chalk Sticks, Blue Toes and Snake Ragwort.

Blue Chalksticks (Curio repens), the whole plant.
Krzysztof Golik, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Blue Chalksticks is toxic

  • Not assessed for cats. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • Not assessed for dogs. This plant is not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety: none of the sources read for this site gives an answer either way. Treat it as unknown.
  • Toxic to people. Toxic to people (low severity). NC State Extension

What the sources say about its care

Light
Full sun, Partial Shade
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Water
Good Drainage
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Humidity

No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.

Most foliage plants prefer more humidity than a heated room gives; succulents are named as an exception
Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Soil
Sand; pH Acid (<6.0), Neutral (6.0-8.0)
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to cats
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Toxic to dogs
Not on the ASPCA list. That is not a finding of safety.
ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
Harmful to people
Toxic to people (low severity)
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026

Routine care

Watering
It does not tolerate overwatering; let the soil or potting mix dry out before watering again.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Propagation
Stem cuttings are the best method, though seed also works.
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026

Move something and watch

Loading the simulator. It needs JavaScript; the care table above does not.

Close view of Blue Chalksticks (Curio repens) foliage.
Close upKrzysztof Golik, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

About the plant

Curio repens is a species of succulent groundcover plant in the genus Curio, in the Asteraceae family. Commonly named blue chalksticks, blue chalk fingers and also snake ragwort, it is frequently used in Mediterranean climate landscaping and as an ornamental plant. Its native range is the Cape Province of South Africa.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026

Native range
Cape Prov.
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Cape Provinces, South Africa
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Climate
subtropical
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Growth form
succulent subshrub
World Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.
Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
Herbaceous Perennial, Succulent; habit creeping, spreading
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Size
Height 6–8 in; width 24–36 in
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Flowering
Flowers white; blooms in fall, summer
NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026

Other Curio

More of the Asteraceae family

Plants with similar care

Sources

What this does not cover

The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.

Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.

If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.