This category contains some of the rarest of plants, some of the most common of plants, and some others too. It must hold a lot in those ten spots! Cactus are prohibited from competing in this category.
And the envelopes please. Coming in at Number ten…
10. Haworthia limifolia – when these are solid with lots of spiraling leaves they look fantastic, practically the best, but too often they lose more leaves than is attractively best for them, so number 10 it is.
9. Crassula muscosa is one of the most popular plants in the nursery, and yet it has never before won a top ten award.
8. Dorstenia crispa ssp. lancifolia is the first rare plant to make this list, and it comes in at a solid 8.
7. Dudleya hassei is the first California Native to make the list, and those chalky fingers are the reason why.
6. Tillandsia caput-medusae x brachycaulos – Airplants were very big this year at the nursery, and so these epiphytic bromeliads get to occupy one place on the list and it’s number 6. Congratulations!
5. Agave lechuguilla is a great agave that would score higher but our plants are too small at this time. Maybe it will score a higher honor next year when we bring out the 5ga. plants. Nice teeth, awesome stripe – this is going to grow into your favorite agave.
4. Our favorite new echeveria cultivar at the nursery this year was a red tipped one. Echeveria “Violet Queen” is the echeveria for me.
3. Graptopetalum pentandrum turned out to be a slightly difficult plant, but chalky, purple, and flattened is better than nothing.
2. Aeonium “Garnet” is the most amazing of the new Aeoniums we had for you this year. In fact, it’s better than the new ones we have ready for you for 2011. But be forewarned, we are growing a new hybrid that will be ready in 2012 that will blow your socks off.
And the Number One Succulent for all of 2010, here and elsewhere, and throughout the Universe, is…
1. Whitesloanea crassa – a rare, although not particularly slow growing, stapeliad with small beetle-pollinated flowers. Don’t water in winter!
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December 30th, 2010 at 8:30 am
But I need my socks. Maybe you should hold off until 2013?
December 30th, 2010 at 8:44 am
The International Council for the Advancement of Agaves is curious as to your methods of calculating the top 10. In the interest of fairness might you consider sharing how you arrive at your top ten list? Is this purely a beauty contest?
December 30th, 2010 at 9:03 am
Mr. S. – We’ll hold off until the warmer weather.
Loree – I could share the whole set of scientific formulas with you, but it still wouldn’t make sense without the trademarked bracketed subsets, although I can add this:
var[y|x] = E[(y-E[y|x])2|x]
var[y|x] = integral or sum of (y-E[y|x])2f(y|x) dy
var[y|x] = E[y2|x] – (E[y|x])2.
December 30th, 2010 at 5:01 pm
I have to agree with most of your choices, but I think the list should be at least the top 20 or maybe 100. How do you choose? I like the algebra, but that’s way too beyond me as math is not my strong suit.
December 31st, 2010 at 12:48 am
That Haworthia is a beauty, so that’s a no brainer. (I could probably cope with laundry if I was a fairy (no comments from the peanut gallery)); I think Dorstenias are just cool (succulent or otherwise), and I don’t think any top ten succulent list is worth the 1s&0s with out an Aesclepiad, but that’s just me. I’m silent with awe you carry Whitesloanea.
December 31st, 2010 at 6:36 am
Thomas – But the Whitesloanea crassa is in the Asclepiadaceae family. And I also have another asclepiad in today’s upcoming top ten list. And tomorrow’s too.
January 8th, 2011 at 11:14 am
[...] it in an hanging basket. It’s a striking plant, and can see why Dudleya hassei made it onto Cactus Blog’s top 10 Succulents of 2010. More to come on the Botanical [...]
January 15th, 2011 at 11:32 pm
Hoooo wooo I have 9, 7, 4, 3 and 2. Pretty good!
January 19th, 2011 at 5:10 pm
Beautiful! I will have to use these in my succulent designs.