Ugly ducklings

[Dionaea Enthusiast]

Great new forum! I will be visiting the subject often.

Now, the topic--I know we'd love to say all plants are incredibly beautiful jewels, but many of us grow a plant that is just plain ugly. I have nothing against ugly plants--they are just a fun-for-me topic to discuss.

Obviously, dead plants are the least beautiful. What I mean is healthy and well-grown plants that look their best, which is bad.

My ugliest plant is called Pilea 'Purple Waffle'. It has a permanently crinkled, "waffled", dead appearance. I checked and am pretty certain it is alive, but you never know...

Calling all plant growers: what are your ugliest plants?

Chris

 

[PlantAKiss]

Well I guess my ugliest plant at the moment is my night-blooming cereus. Its a tall, gangly not-too-pretty plant. They look kinda like a VERY large christmas cactus but because of their height they tend to be floppy and need support. It was about 3-feet tall and its now putting up new "spikes" that will develope the fleshy, succulent leaves--the new spikes are almost 3-feet tall already and still growing! The flowers are supposed to be spectacular (mine hasn't bloomed yet but I hope it does this year). Their opening is an "event"...they bloom around 10 p.m. at night for just a few hours but are supposed have a heavenly scent. I'm really crossing my fingers for a flower (hopefully many) this summer. If I get some, I will definitely be photographing it.

Suzanne

 

[larry]

DE,
If its so ugly, why do you grow it? Does it look ugly but have nice flowers like suzanne's plant?

 

[Dionaea Enthusiast]

Larry, that's a good question! It hasn't displayed any positive aspects yet, but if it flowers, it may be redeemed, but I don't know if even the flowers are attractive. We will see! I still think it looks interesting, though not beautiful, just worthy of being grown.

Suzanne, I'm on the lookout for one of those plants. And I used to think all cacti and succulents were boring! :shocked:

Chris

 

[greencrunch]

The ugliest plant I ever had was also a cactus, but it went in the other direction from PAK's, it was a motlly collection of round wrinkled brown/ black lumps about 3/4" in diameter, I am still suspisious that it tries to look like an animal dropping to keep things from eating it. A lot of the desert cacti and succulents seem too have a great potential for "UGLY", which, of course, makes them very cool!

 

[unknownclown]

I realy don't have any plants that I consider ugly but I have 1 plant, a Purple Passion, and when it blooms it's the rottenest smell! It had me searching all over thinking a diaper didn't make it to the trash.

 

[havron]

greencrunch, you may be right, as there is actually a type of caterpillar that has evolved to look like a bird dropping so that birds won't eat it! lol, kinda makes you realize that God has a sense of humor, doesn't it?

 

[greencrunch]

There are also tropical spiders that do the same thing, one even makes a white web "splat" mark around the chunky dark spider in the middle, VERY convincing.

 

[Dionaea Enthusiast]

Enjoyed hearing your stories, all.

UC, I grow the Gynura aurantiaca you mentioned but have not had it flower. Would you agree the foliage is pretty cool, though?

GC, do you know the botanical name of that cactus? Sounds like a VERY fun plant to grow. Crap camouflage.

havron, I was going to make this ridiculous witty comment in reply to your reply that would have landed me in trouble, but I decided against it and instead note that I agree with you.

Chris

 

[greencrunch]

Hi DE, I believe that the cactus in question was Neoporteria occulta, although anything in the generas Ariocarpus, Aztekium or the small flat dark Gymnocalycium species would have the same effect, with the Gymnocalycium being by far the easiest to grow.

 

[Dionaea Enthusiast]

Thanks! I found a source for the Neoporteria, Ariocarpus, and Gymnocalycium. Aztekium still eludes me. It's just fun saying 'Aztekium' out loud.