Cotyledon orbiculata Grey - Succulent

The Cotyledon orbiculata Grey is a beautiful succulent plant with wide succulent cup-shaped leaves that have earned it the nickname "Pig's Ear". Their colour varies with the season, ranging from almond green to almost white silver-grey, sometimes with red margins, and they are decorative all year round. An adult plant will produce unique flower heads in summer, bearing clusters of tubular orange flowers. Not very hardy, this plant is easily cultivated in a pot indoors or outdoors during the season, similar to a cactus. Stunning in a Mediterranean rock garden! 

The Cotyledon orbiculata Grey belongs to the family Crassulaceae. It is a horticultural selection derived from Cotyledon orbiculata, a species native to South Africa. In nature, this plant thrives in a semi-desert region called Karoo, often on rocky outcrops and in dry meadows. Its cold resistance is around -4 °C at its coldest, possibly a bit lower in very dry soil. Once well-rooted, this succulent plant can survive without any watering, even in the driest regions.

With slow growth, the Cotyledon Grey reaches about 1 m (3ft) in height when flowering and has a spread of 50 cm (20in) at maturity when grown in open ground. In a pot, its dimensions will remain more modest. The plant forms a clump of upright and branched stems, with leaves grouped tightly at their tips. The leaves are thick, fleshy, obovate, and slightly concave. They measure up to 13 cm (5in) long and 7 cm (3in) wide. The lamina is covered with a white bloom, a powdery substance that is more abundant when the plant is exposed to the sun, the soil is dry, and the weather is hot.

Consequently, the colour of the leaves varies from pale green to light bluish-grey or even white. A delicate reddish zone often borders the lamina. The flowering occurs in summer. The flower head is a long upright stem ending in a cyme. This cyme clusters 10 to 30 pendant flowers with 5 fused petals forming a yellow-orange tube, 2-3 cm (1in) long, opening into 5 small flared lobes. 

On the coast, place the Cotyledon orbiculata Grey in a rock garden, above a stone wall, or on a well-drained slope in full sun. It pairs perfectly with aloes, agaves,  Mangaves, and Hesperaloe parviflora in an exotic setting. Elsewhere, you can plant it in a nice, heavy pot, alone or combined with other succulent plants such as sempervivums.