Top Ten Succulents of 2011
The time has come, my friend, for last year’s top ten list. And just in time, too! Let’s get on with the program.
10. Pachypodium brevicaule
These little beauties didn’t last long in the rare plant room at the nursery. They will eventually grow HUGE! Up to 10″ across, some say. Yellow flowers are a plus.
9. Eulophia petersii
Desert orchids, what more could you want? We sold through the crop pretty quickly, and so now we’re working on the next crop. Hopefully we will be able to keep these going for years to come and will bring out a few new plants every spring.
8. Echeveria elegans whould probably be higher on the list since it’s soooo popular with everyone. But there’s not a snowball’s chance that I will raise it higher on the list. Enjoy it here. 8 is pretty good too.
7. Adenium somalense
These were not very popular with the kids this year, what with the high prices and the ready availability of lower-priced desert roses like the very similar A. obesum. Some people just don’t appreciate rarity of variation.
6. Aloe polyphylla
These were like bonkers this year! Everyone wanted one. Now we’re out of all but the largest sizes. I wonder if Hap’s working on a new crop yet?
5. Pedilanthus tithymaloides
Devil’s Backbone plant for you, please.
4. Delosperma echinatum
These originally came in #9, but then the common name moved them up to #4. What was that common name? Spiny Pickles. So you see why.
3. Echeveria “Violet Queen”
My favorite of our new Echeverias this year, and yet it did not reach #1. I must not have as much say in this process as I thought. Maybe I could demand a recount.
2. Sedum “Blue Spruce”
What the… Why is this one on the list, even all the way up at #2? This is a travesty. I reject this entirely. Who’s in charge here? Dammit.
And not to put too fine a point on it, but the number Top Ten Succulent of 2011 is…
1. Aeonium “Velour”
Supposedly an older cultivar, but clearly only recently reintroduced. Oh the beauty, the subtlety, the infrescence and yograndulance.
