Cotyledon orbiculata Silver Dollar

Cotyledon orbiculata 'Silver Dollar' is an amazing succulent plant that captivates with its large succulent, bright silver-white leaves. Their white colour can vary in intensity depending on the season, but they remain bright and decorative all year round. An adult plant will produce original inflorescences in summer, bearing clusters of tubular orange flowers. Not very hardy, this cotyledon is easily grown in a pot indoors or outdoors during the warm season, like a cactus. Stunning in a Mediterranean rock garden!

Cotyledon orbiculata 'Silver Dollar' belongs to the Crassulaceae family. It is a selection with particularly wide and light foliage, found in nature. The species, Cotyledon orbiculata, is native to South Africa. Its cup-shaped leaves have earned it the nickname Pig's Ear. In its natural environment, 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 peak, and may be slightly lower in very dry soil. Once well rooted, this succulent plant can go without watering, even in the driest regions.

Slow-growing Cotyledon 'Silver Dollar' reaches about 1 m in height when flowering, with a spread of 50 cm at maturity when grown in the ground. In a pot, its dimensions will remain more modest. The plant forms a clump of upright and branching stems, bearing tightly grouped leaves at their tips. The leaves are thick and fleshy, obovate in shape and slightly concave. They can measure up to 20 cm in diameter. The leaf 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. Therefore, the colour of the leaves varies from very pale green to very light grey and white. Flowering occurs in summer. The inflorescence is a long upright stem ending in a cyme. This cyme consists of 10 to 30 pendulous flowers with 5 fused petals forming an orangish-yellow tube, 2-3 cm long, opening into 5 small flared lobes.

On the coast, plant Cotyledon orbiculata 'Silver Dollar' in a rock garden, above a stone wall, or on a well-drained slope, in full sun. It will perfectly complement aloes, agaves, Mangaves, and Hesperaloe parviflora in an exotic setting. Elsewhere, you can plant it in a nice, heavy pot, alone or with other succulent plants like houseleeks, for example.