Perhaps the most unusual and stunning plants you will ever see are succulents. They have unique shapes and rosettes in a variety of colors that will create an incredible spectacle in any living area.
Additionally, succulents are renowned for having water-filled stems, branches, and leaves that protect them from the sun’s harsh rays during dry spells. But how exactly should one be cared for and what makes crested ones different?
What is Crested Succulent and how does it form?
Similar to variegated succulents, crested ones are the result of a genetic flaw in the apical meristem, which is the region of the plant’s root tip where growth occurs. This genetic flaw typically develops when a normal plant with a single growing point experiences physical damage that results in the development of multiple growing points. The plant will now be unable to produce a single rosette as it starts to cluster and push against one another, pushing it to take on unusual, twisted, and curvy shapes that give it a completely different appearance from the typical one.
Can Crested Succulents Revert Back To Normal?
Yes, there is a good probability that some of your succulent will resume its usual development, especially after your crested plant begins to feel overcrowded (this is called defasciation). Therefore, if you wish to keep your succulent’s distinctive, crested appearance, start pruning back any normal growth that you see before it overshadows the crested areas or, if left alone, causes the entire plant to revert to normal.
Caring for Crested Succulents
In general, crested succulents are more delicate and require gentler care than their ordinary counterparts because it is unusual for a succulent to be cresting and they are not well-adapted to this form.  
More specifically, because they are more susceptible to rot than your other standard succulents, your crested succulents should receive fertilizer and less water. Additionally, they should be planted in a pot or container with a well-draining potting mix and placed in a high location with lots of sunlight.
Where to get a Crested Succulent?
Of course, you can purchase one from us. The following are a some of our most well-liked succulents out of the many that we have to offer:
Coconut Cactus
Also known as “Euphorbia lactea ‘Cristata’, this succulent, which was created by grafting together two other succulents, is wonderfully beautiful and grows in the most unusual way. It is not a cactus. You may anticipate this plant to mature and grow to a height of up to 36 inches and a diameter of about 24 inches.
See more of our collection of cacti with unusual shapes. They are fantastic for any house, workplace, or garden to create the ultimate green area because they are simple to cultivate, very versatile, largely pest-free, and low care.
Aeonium Crested Sunburst
A crested succulent with a range of white, yellow, and green-colored leaves that, when exposed to bright light, can also grow red edges. The stems and leaves of crested Aeonium Sunbursts are different from those of normal Aeonium Sunbursts in that they will eventually flatten out.
Frosted Crested Cubic Echeveria
A lovely succulent with a distinctive shape and gorgeous lavender frosty leaves. Creating clusters of lavender rosettes up to 10 inches in diameter, this extremely unusual plant can grow up to 8 inches tall.
Frosty Crested Echeveria
Echeveria Pulvinata ‘Frosty,’ which is also described as a stunning, “furry” crested succulent, is a wonderful addition to your collection. This plant produces some yellow-orange flowers in the summer and has whitish-green rosettes that are heavily covered in silvery-white hairs.
Echeveria of Crested Blue Atoll
A distinctive evergreen crested succulent with pale leaf edges that are light blue-green in color. It blooms in the spring with tiny orange and yellow flowers on stalks that can reach a height of 8 inches.
How is a succulent crested created?
Your succulent is unquestionably growing in what is known as a “cristate or crested form.” When the original plant experiences harm to the single, typical growing point, it produces many growing points. These all collide and create the wavy, fan-like shape. We are unable to identify the plant with certainty; we can only speculate that it is probably a type of echeveria because it is unable to develop in its typical shape, which is a single rosette. It appears that might be the case off the right side of the picture, but we can’t see it, that it will occasionally throw out a plant that has returned to normal. This will assist in locating the plant. In order to be safe, I would carefully unpot it and fill the pot with soil so you could repot it at a higher level. This will improve airflow around the base, where rot problems can frequently develop, and remove all the old, dead leaves from the soil, which can lead to a fungus problem. Other than that, you seem to be handling everything fairly well. You don’t want the soil to be moist for very long, which is what it appears to be a little bit. Water well when you do, but wait to do so until the soil has begun to dry up to approximately your first knuckle on your finger before doing so again. Keep it as bright as you can, even with a little sun.
Can you grow crested succulents from seed?
Unfortunately, growing a crested succulent from leaves or seeds is next to impossible. Even though cresting and monstrose succulents are caused by genetic flaws, the harm to the immature plant prevented these mutations from being passed forward.
Because the cresting-causing mutations are not passed down to the children, seeds from crested succulents will instead create a regular plant.
Cuttings from a crested plant are taken and grafted onto a new plant to produce crested succulents. The base plant, which supplies it with nutrition and stability, serves as support for the crested graft.
Are crested succulents a rare species?
The occurrence of cresting succulents is unusual, hence they are rare or special. Online prices show that they are more expensive than a typical succulent. However, because there are many of them available for purchase, perhaps we should just refer to them as odd. Aeonium “Sunburst” is frequently seen on websites that offer crested plants.
Even less water and fertilizer than is required for your typical succulents must be used when caring for crested or monstrous succulent plants. The best outcome for this unique development is to let nature take its course. Monstrous curiosities with crests are more prone to get rot and perhaps revert to regular growth, ruining the effect of the crest.
Naturally, you’ll want to give your odd plant special attention. It should be planted high in the container with the right soil mixture. If you’ve purchased or been given the opportunity to raise a crested succulent, learn about it and give it the care it needs.
Can a cactus be forced to crest?
Is it possible to make a healthy plant become ceested or monstrous? Cacti Prevail! Damage to the growth point may result in a crest, but it usually leads to additional branches or heads.
How should a crested cactus be cared for?
Crested euphorbia is an easy plant to grow as long as you give it plenty of light and moderately warm temperatures. Even in hot summer climes, indoor plants can withstand a lot of direct sunlight.
The crested euphorbia is a low-water houseplant that only requires infrequent watering because it is truly a succulent (typically once every couple of weeks or so). Avoid overwatering this simple houseplant because if the green rootstalk on the bottom rots, the top will become too heavy and collapse. Keep crested euphorbia slightly too dry rather than excessively moist if you’re unsure whether to water it.
A mulch made of glued-together boulders is frequently used to grow crested euphorbia. Learn how to care for plants with pebble mulch in this article.
What results in a cactus being crested?
When the cells in the developing stem start to divide outward rather than in the circular pattern of a typical cactus, cristate or “crested saguaros” are formed. This rare mutation causes a saguaro’s main stem or limbs to sprout a big fan-shaped crest at the growing tip.
How are crested Euphorbias propagated?
Propagating Euphorbia lacteal ‘Cristata’ is a difficult task, but it is doable for extremely tenacious gardeners. You must be ready for the chance of failure if you wish to try your hand at cultivating this unusual plant.
In reality, grafting a cutting onto a Euphorbia neriifolia or a Euphorbia canariensis is the only practical method of propagating Crested Euphorbia. Due of their infrequent flowering and seed production, Crested Euphorbia cannot be propagated from seeds.
The procedure isn’t very challenging if you’ve never grafted a plant before, and gardeners of any skill level may finish it. Since the summer is the plant’s active growing season, it is typically advised to graft your cuttings then.
To underline, cutting Euphorbia releases a toxic sap, hence it is strongly advised to wear safety goggles and gloves during the grafting procedure.
If Euphorbia sap comes into touch with your skin or eyes, it might irritate you and burn you. If the sap gets into your eyes, it might even result in complete blindness in severe circumstances. It’s imperative to stop what you’re doing and promptly wash your skin or eyes with water if the sap does get on them.
Although some people respond more strongly than others, it is still best to use caution. Additionally, make sure the area where you cut your succulents won’t expose your kids or pets to any sap by accident.
You can cut Euphorbia lactea into a triangular-shaped point once you’ve put on your safety gear. The plant on which you are grafting it should be clipped into a complementary v-shape. To fit together, the cuts should be roughly the same size.
It’s up to you whether you use a knife, scissors, or shears, but whichever weapon you select, make sure it’s clean and sharp. Cutting tools that are dull and unclean have the potential to infect the open wounds created by cutting, which might harm your cuttings.
You can also clean your cutting blades with rubbing alcohol before cutting if you’re really concerned about infection. By doing this, you can be sure that your blades are sterile and stop worrying about spreading illness or infection from one plant to another.
You can tie your Crested Euphorbia and Euphorbia neriifolia or Euphorbia canariensis together with twine or a piece of plastic wrap after you’ve pushed them onto each other. The two plants can be kept in position with the use of rubber bands as well.
Maintaining your new transplant is easy. Water it as usual, and make sure it has a lot of sunshine and mild weather. It’s advisable to stay out of the full sun and high temperatures during this period.
It’s crucial to maintain a tight eye on your plants for the first few weeks following grafting to ensure that everything is progressing according to plan. You shouldn’t have too many concerns if you utilized clean, sharp cutting tools and secured the plants.
If the plants’ wounds have healed and connected them together after a few weeks, you can try removing the twine or wrap to check. You can start caring for your new succulent as you would a mature Coral Cactus if the wounds have healed.
Simply rewrap the wounds and check them again in two or three weeks if they haven’t yet healed. The plants should typically recover and seal themselves together in no more than a month or two.