Thursday, February 4, 2016

Crassula argentea 'Ogre Ears'

I recently purchased a specimen of Crassula argentea 'Ogre Ears' at Home Depot. Normally, I like to use plain terracotta pots, but this particular plant was calling out for something special. I've had this funky orange pot for quite a while, but I haven't used it for a few years. I'm pretty sure it's a garage sale or thrift store find.


This plant was named after the ogre's ears in the movie Shrek. The leaves are really cute and unusual. I also have a Crassula ovata 'Hobbit' that looks really similar. For the longest time, I thought they were the same plant.


The leaves of 'Hobbit' are more tube-shaped, sometimes with a little cup at the tip (see photo below). 'Ogre Ears', on the other hand, has a more pronounced, flared, saucer shape at the tip of the leaf. I think they do get mixed up a lot and are often mislabeled. But from what information I can find, they're not even the same species. To make things even more confusing, there's also a variety of Crassula ovata called 'Gollum', which looks exactly like "Hobbit'. If you know more about this, let me know!

Ogre Ears
Hobbit

Here's the label on the pot for more information:




1 comment:

  1. I love these plants - I've got a gollum and it doesn't look like hobbit so much to me - shrek ears, or ogre ears is my favorite. Wonderful plants!

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