Crassula 'Tom Thumb'

I posted this plant last year but the flowers were so profuse, I couldn't resist. So, here it is. An old time favorite: not rare nor hard to grow, but certainly worth having around. As I mentioned before, we've had this plant around for 40 years or so and, even though it tends to get ignored much of the time, it thrives in spite of us. What more needs to be said.

Crassula falcata (syn: Crassula perfoliata var. falcata)

One of the several forms of Crassula falcata was flowering today, so of course I had to take a photo. This is one plant that, if we had the weather that permitted it, I would grow outdoors year around. And I know just where I'd put it. But that's all just fantasy. I'll just have to enjoy it as a potted plant, as do most of us.

Enjoy your plants.

Crassula pubescens

This particular crassula doesn't get enough attention. Its small, fuzzy leaves are attractive enough but, because of its size, it's and easily overlooked. Until the other day. I was going through the Haworthia section and a tray of these was there in the middle of all those haworthias. Wow. Not overlooked.

Enjoy!

Crassula 'Buddha's Temple'

I've always liked this plant, a hybrid created by Martin Krimnach a good many years ago. It's known as Crassula 'Buddha's Temple'. One of ours was flowering yesterday and so... It's a hybrid of Crassula
 pyramidalis and Crassula perfoliata var. minor.

Name please?

Our little creature here wants to know..."What's this crassula thing growing up behind me?"

Sometimes Lynn-Marie gets bored...

Crassula capitella subsp. thyrisiflora

It was a lovely day today, nice enough to sit out on the deck for an afternoon drink today. I also gave me an opportunity to set up the tripod and get some photography done. This is a close-up of Crassula capitella subsp. thyrisiflora showing its wonderful symmetry. Now, of course, this is very much a close-up! This is a small plant.

Enjoy your plants!

Crassula falcata

It's an old fashioned succulent plant. At least it is to us. For forty some years we've had 'em around. The "Propeller Plant", so called. It's a striking plant without flowers, but when it flowers...what's not to like! It's a wonderful South African plant which is great as a potted specimen and wonderful planted outside in places where the weather permits.

Succulent Dish Garden

Once in a while - when we get a few spare moments - we play around with creating some dish gardens. Lynn-Marie did this one earlier this year and I think the choice of contrasting plants - Opuntia in the background with the Crassula in the forefront - worked out quite well. And it's a great choice for an old discarded ash tray...

Crassula ausensis ssp. titanopsis

Just a quick little photo of a nice little clumping crassula, Crassula ausensis ssp. titanopsis. They kind of get ignored at times but still do OK, but they can be a little touchy. I'll need to get my close-up lens out. This is one of those plants best appreciated up close and personal.

Crassula pubescens

Also known as the Bear Paw Jade in some of its forms, this is a miniature plant which could be used as a ground cover in very mild climates. Personally, I like it in a pot just fine thank you!

Crassula perfoliata var. minor (AKA Crassula falcata)

Another crassula. Another plant which was among the first we ever grew. Can grow quite tall (2 feet or more!) and has a bright red inflorescence in mid-summer. And we still call it Crassula falcata, no matter what the taxonomists say...

Certainly not rare, so the collectors of rare can turn up their noses. But somehow or another, through all our attempts to reduce the number of plants we have, this one is still hanging around...actually more than one. Must be something even more important than rarity!

"Silinderplakkie" - Crassula columella

Another one of those "old-timey" plants. At least they seem that way to us since we've had one or two of these plants around for many, many years. Quite easy to grow if you remember not to over-water in the Summer when they're taking their rest. They're from the Winter rainfall area on the West Coast of South Africa, up to Namibia. And what's not to like with these columns of tightly packed leaves?

Crassula 'Tom Thumb'

I haven't posted much about Crassulas, so I'll start a brief series with a few of the plants we have in our menagerie of succulent plants.

So first up is Crassula 'Tom Thumb'. It's a small growing plant, so it's ideal for a windowsill growing area. We've had these plants for forty years or so, even if they do sometimes get lost in the mix of other, more rare plants. But the fact that they're still around and, in spite of some neglect, looking pretty good, is testimony to the easy culture of these plants. Plus...they bloom in the Winter and have bunches of small fragrant flowers. It likes semi-shade, but gets some red on the edges of the leaves in bright light.