Crassula Ovata Gollum

I had the good fortune of being give a new succulent for my collection. A very large and healthy crassula ovata gollum to be specific. This plant is incredibly beautiful! I hope that I can keep it thriving so that it only gets bigger.

I noticeably need to work on my photography skills, but I'm sure you get the point. I can't believe how lucky I was to be given this. A neighbor was moving out and decided that she could not take the plant with her, so she gave it to me! I was so happy :)

I've taken a couple close-up pictures so that you can see a little more detail.

The leaves a cylindrical so that they can soak up lots of sunlight while allowing as little evaporation as possible.

Succulents never cease to amaze me. They do everything possible to hold as much water as they possibly can. They are truly "drought tolerant" plants.


In recent years I've noticed that the crassula ovata gollum is growing in popularity. I often see it in home improvement stores with other cute little plants on the shelves. It is also in those little mixed cacti/succulent plants that are atrociously priced. Those plants are clearly not nearly as old as this one is though. They are all green - like the ends of the branches above.

I plan on taking off a few of the smaller arms and planting them in some small pots for friends and family as Christmas gifts this year. I think they will make great gifts!

Unknown Leafy Cactus

If anyone recognizes this lovely cactus, please let me know because I can't seem to figure it out...

Anyways, my husband brought this cactus home for me as a surprise gift one day six months ago. I fell in love with it immediately. It is extremely spiny and always has leaves on the top half of the cactus. It is approximately 6 in tall and, at its widest (because it tapers at the bottom and top), 1.25 in wide not including spines. The spines are about 0.75 in long and the leaves are a whopping 8 inches in diameter! It was originally potted in a tiny square blue pot, so I recently re-potted it with an aloe bulb in a larger terra cotta pot.

I would like everyone to note that cacti are supposed to have crazy huge root systems. The roots also tend to grow more horizontally instead of down so that they can get more water. I try to pick my pots accordingly, but it's not always easy.

Just look at that gorgeous set up! 


I can't wait to post some pictures of the aloe that I pulled the bulb off of. It has bloomed three times in the last three years. It is one happy plant! I'm hoping these two do well together.

I plan on adding some crushed brick on top of the soil to make it look a little prettier. The soil is a "special cactus blend" that I got a while back. So we'll see if it actually performs any better than my other plants.

Right now I'm watering it once every other week. I'll alter waterings as necessary. I find it best to just learn the signs of a thirsty cactus - which is not as easy as it sounds sometimes!

Euphorbia Trigona

This Euphorbia Trigona is my baby! I love this cactus. It is insanely easy to care for and is quite the beauty too. In all technicality, this is actually my husband's cactus. He broke a small arm of his grandfather's plant... and, well, let's just say its grown a bit.

 Every once and while we intentionally break an arm off to start a new plant, but usually it just gets bumped into accidentally. We have around 6 or so plants right now. It amazes me how quickly this cactus grows! It goes through "seasons" of growth every couple of months. During each season it will grow between 1 and 3 inches! Crazy fast, especially for a cactus. Pretty soon I think I will have to put it on a lower table, or even on the floor. It is getting so tall it has almost grown past the top of the window. Therefore, to encourage growth I think it would be best to let the top receive the most light that it can possible get.

 I think my favorite thing about this big boy is that it has leaves. So many leaves! I love that! It took me a while to realize that there are actually quite of few cacti that have leaves, but traditional it's kind of weird. Right? I think so :)

I want to tell you all how old this cactus is, but I'm not sure! I will have to update this post later after I ask my hubby. Until then, enjoy your cacti and succulents!!

UPDATE:  My husband got this cactus approximately 10 years ago off of his grandfather's cactus (which was touching the ceiling at the time - CRAZY). He literally pulled off one of the arms from the main plant and it was only 10 cm long. I honestly can't believe how much it has grown since then.