A cultivar selected from the species of the Californian Sierra Nevada, 'Little Plum' is a perennial from the Montiaceae family with a compact habit and remarkably generous flowering. Like its counterparts in the 'Little' series, it stands out with a well-defined color palette that earns it a place of choice in rock garden collections.
The rosette is dense, spreading, formed of fleshy, dark green, glossy linear leaves, barely raised at the edges, remaining very low. The short, branched flower stems bear numerous buds of deep carmine red before opening, which already contributes to the decorative effect of the plant.
The open flowers offer a changing and complex palette: the petals, wide and well-opened, transition from bright pink to salmon orange and then to coppery orange depending on the stage of the flower and the sunlight conditions, each traversed by more pronounced fine veins that give them a velvety texture. The stamens with yellow-orange anthers contrast with this warm background. The chromatic variation within the same clump, between young and mature flowers, creates a particularly lively effect.
In cultivation, flowering occurs from May to July. Like all lewisias, this cultivar requires absolute drainage and dreads stagnant moisture at the collar. Planting in a wall crevice or in a very mineral substrate suits it perfectly.