According to the Register of Brugmansia Cultivars and Checklist of Names in Use - August 2007....

Charles Grimaldi was created from a cross between Dr Seuss and Frosty Pink.

Dr Seuss was discovered by Hetty Krause in Columbia in the wild and was originally named 'Hetty Krause' but was changed to Dr Seuss in the 1980s.

Because so many folks have ID'd each of these two from only flower pictures and not taken into account the leaf shapes, many times each one has been incorrectly ID'd and thus getting a correct ID is very difficult.

So glad you asked this. I've been meaning to post this question for a few months. I was given my first Brug cuttings last Nov. They were labeled Charles Grimaldi. They have been hardy and quick to root and bloom. However, they have the serrated leaves, and I also checked the description on Country Gardens where they say the serrated leaves belong to Dr. Seuss. I was wondering if I indeed had a Dr. S. instead of Chas. G. The blooms are large, yellowish "orange" with some nice whiskers. Have just rechecked these Brugs. Some of the plants have smooth edged leaves and others def. have the serrated. Does C.G. do both? Gloria

I still haven't gotten clarification on this yet. I don't mind the serrated look that much, but it's the size of the leaves that I don't like. On the mature plant that I had last year, on what was supposed to be a CG, the leaves were over a foot long! On the one that I was thinking to be a Dr. Seuss, the leaves are smooth edged, and they're at least 1/2 the size. This allows the flowers to show better, and this mature plant seemed to have an enourmous amount of blooms. I would think that more so than a CG.

Based on the description on Country Garden's web site, and the fact that CG is a hybrid crossed with Frosty Pink, which apparently has small, smooth-edged leaves, I now think that the 1st picture is really a Dr. Seuss, and that the one on the bottom is really a Charles Grimaldi.

This is just my theory, but it would be great is someone that knows these two varieties can clarify the folliage that they're suppossed to have.

I'm having the same problem with these two.

Hi,
I just bought a Dr. Seuss from a nursery and it has the
serrated leaves, will have to wait untill next year to see
how big the leaves actually get.
HTH,
gardenpaw

My Brug has large leaves (at first, and they are serrated), does this mean I have a Dr Seuss?

A few years back, I worked for a big wholesaler who grew and distributed Brugs to growers around the state (CA). At that time, I had bought a C. Grimaldi, which all of the clones bloomed identical, and had the same leaf pattern/size, and each one was serrated and normal leaf size was between 12-16 inches long. The scent (from what I can recall) of the Charles Grimaldi has a more Heady tone to it when you smell it up close (like Sambac Jasmine or Madagascar Jasmine-Stephanotis). I believe it can be smelled from much further away than Dr. Seuss, and Dr Seuss has much longer tendrils (to 5 or 6 inches long on a mature tree - against Grimaldi's 2-4 inch long tendrils) pointing upward early in the evening, reflexing more toward the flute, and even curling inward after several hours after dark. It also has a slightly lighter scent, closer to Pink Favorite or Miss Anna - more powdery - less musk. I think a TRUE C. Grimaldi has more pumpkin tones in it, and the Dr. Seuss has a peachier yellow tone (of course, that can be subjective as many Brugs colors change with soil, light, temps, etc).

juanh, I would agree with you on the top one being Dr. Seuss and the second one as Charles Grimaldi / aka Jutner Orange but to really id them it should be done not by the eye or discription but DNA?? We purchased a Jutner Orange that threw off a few serrated leaves.