The Comeback Story of the Crassula Ovata 'Gollum': How an Ugly Duckling Succulent Grew into a Beautiful Old Specimen
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Images and text: Curator
Figure 1. In March 2016, when purchased from the greenhouse, it was already a Crassula ovata 'Gollum' old specimen with a bit of color, and it survived the test of the hot, stuffy summer.
Figure 2. In March 2017, it had been sitting on the windowsill of the work dormitory all along, and compared with when it was first bought, it had already produced quite a few pups and grown a lot. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough sunlight, so it was just a little green duckling.
Figures 3 to 4. In April of the same year, unable to stand it anymore, I put it out on the large terrace at home for outdoor growing, and it slowly turned red and colored up, and its shape was also controlled. I was still very pleased, even though it was left to fend for itself, getting rained on and enduring wind and rain. I was actually quite satisfied with this state.
Figure 5. In May, as soon as I went to the balcony, it had already amazed me. Super beautiful, completely flawless from every angle. I shared it with the seller, and fellow succulent growers all gave it quite high praise. It had completely gone from an ugly duckling to a red duckling princess, okay!
Can you still tell it's the same plant? In a place as rainy and abundant as Greater Changsha, getting it into this state is already quite difficult. I had a PK with a friend's little duckling in Lijiang, and won by a landslide. Super happy!
Sharing personal experience. Not everyone has a large terrace at home, and not all succulents can be grown outdoors. Giving succulents plenty of sunlight is a must, and if conditions allow, provide a grow light to supplement UV. I have always believed that if you raise it tough, it grows tough; if you pamper it, it becomes precious. I put them on the large terrace at home and never took care of them. Every time I went back, they amazed me. Rainwater is actually more suitable for succulents than tap water and purified water, because the wild natural environment also gets rained on, restoring the environment they love to grow in. With plenty of sunlight, they naturally become beautiful. Friends with indoor balconies can use buckets and basins at home to collect rainwater, save it, and use it to water their succulents.
That's all for now. I'll share more slowly in the future. Produced by Jing Xiaoxin
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