Echeveria cactus. Echeveria. Is the plant poisonous?
Echeveria is a succulent of the Crassulaceae family. The plant has dense, juicy, fleshy leaves that form a rosette. Small bell-shaped flowers are a distinctive feature of the plant; by them you can easily distinguish Echeveria from other similar succulents. Most common in Mexico, often found in California and Texas, and also in some Latin American countries.
Common types of echeveria and photographs of them
There are more than 150 species of echeveria, including both the smallest representatives of the genus and those reaching the size of a shrub about 70 cm in height. Below are the most popular varieties for home breeding.
A bush-like plant with a short or absent stem, on which rosettes of pointed, elongated light green leaves with a reddish tint are formed. In May-June it blooms with yellow-red flowers. Inflorescences 30-40 cm long grow from the center of the rosette.
The shoots of this species are long, creeping, at the tips there is a rosette of light green leaves with a white coating, reddish at the edges. Rosettes are from 3 to 6 cm in diameter. It blooms from mid-spring to late June with red-yellow flowers on small inflorescences growing from the central leaves of the rosette.
The photo shows a graceful Echeveria
A plant with a thick straight stem, fleshy, cup-shaped leaves with a small thorn at the tops form a dense rosette up to 15 cm in diameter. The inflorescences are branched, the flowers are bell-shaped, bright pink or red, yellowish at the ends. Blooms in late spring - early summer.
A succulent with a shortened or missing stem. Rosettes are formed by numerous dense, fleshy, pointed leaves, densely covered with light bristles. During the flowering period it produces long inflorescences, numerous, red-yellow flowers.
Low shrubs. Rosettes with a few thick cup-shaped leaves, pointed towards the top and pubescent on the underside. Red-orange dense flowers with fluff appear in March-April.
Herbaceous perennial. The rosettes are large - up to 20 cm in diameter, with large gray-green leaves. It blooms with large orange flowers with a waxy coating. The plant develops very slowly.
Caring for an echeveria plant at home
The plant does not require special attention
The plant is completely unpretentious, and with proper, simple care it rarely gets sick and is quite resistant to pests. Handle the leaves of the plant carefully - they are very fragile.
Lighting and location selection
The succulent loves light very much and easily tolerates direct sunlight. It grows best on south-facing windows. But in the spring it is better to accustom plants to the sun gradually, especially young plants. In the warm season it prefers open air.
Optimum temperature for growing echeveria
The plant tolerates hot, dry months well, but it is better to provide a temperature of 22 to 27 ° C. In winter they are kept in a bright room at a temperature of 8-15°C. Varieties that bloom during the winter months are kept warm.
Air humidity
Spraying is not required for this plant.
Echeveria does not require spraying and prefers dry air. At high humidity, the bluish waxy coating on the leaves disappears, protecting the plant from disease and sunburn. Leaves of non-hairy species are wiped with a damp soft cloth to avoid pest damage.
Watering a flower
In the hot season, water 1-2 times a week, the top soil layer should dry completely. After watering, excess water is drained from the pan. Water carefully; if water gets into the outlet, the plant may begin to rot. By the end of autumn, watering is reduced to once a month; in winter, watering is done 1-2 times per season.
Composition of soil for echeveria
Suitable soil mixture for succulents. They also make a substrate from coarse sand, leaf and turf soil, one to one. Charcoal and broken bricks are added to the mixture.
Fertilizers
When fertilizing echeveria, it is important not to overdo it, otherwise an excess of fertilizers can lead to damage to the roots.
Starting in March, they begin to feed fertilizer for succulents and cacti in a half dose no more than once a month. Excess feeding leads to damage to the root system.
Echeveria plant blooming
Most often, echeveria blooms in May-June for 2-3 weeks. The best conditions for the formation of inflorescences are a temperature of 15-18°C and daylight hours of 12-13 hours for 50-60 days.
Transfer
Young individuals are replanted every spring, adults are not touched unless necessary, only the top layer of soil is replaced. For the shallow root system of the plant, low and wide pots are suitable. There must be a good layer of drainage at the bottom. Before planting, the soil mixture is steamed or calcined to prevent the growth of bacteria.
How can you propagate echeveria?
The succulent has high vitality and is quite easy to grow at home. Echeveria is propagated through seeds, leaf cuttings and rosettes.
How to grow echeveria from seeds
The seeds are sown in a sand-peat mixture (1:1) at the end of winter and covered with film. Keep at a temperature of 20-22°C, regularly sprayed and ventilated. The seedlings emerge in about two weeks; they are transferred to small pots with a mixture of leaf soil and sand (2:1). When the diameter of the rosette reaches 3 cm, the grown plants are transplanted into a suitable sized container with a substrate for adult individuals.
Propagation of indoor Echeveria flower by leaf
Echeveria reproduces by seeds, leaves and rosettes
In succulents, the propagation buds are located at the base of the leaf, so it is important to carefully separate the leaf completely from the mother plant. The echeveria leaf is attached to the stem by so-called “wings”; if one of them is carefully picked off with a knife, the leaf is easily removed with all its parts.
The separated leaf is dried in air for 2-3 weeks to eliminate bacteria and avoid rotting of the new plant. And after this, the leaf cuttings, without burying them, are placed on a damp substrate with the top side facing out. The pot with the leaf is kept in diffused light at 20-25°C.
Within 2-3 weeks the leaf takes root, and after another month a small rosette appears. At this time, the succulent is transplanted into mature soil.
Propagation of Echeveria plant by rosettes
Not all types of echeveria support propagation by leaf cuttings; in this case, a rosette is used. It is carefully separated from the mother plant, the cut site is treated with charcoal, dried for 10-12 hours and planted in damp sand or substrate. The advantage of this method is that a plant grown in this way will produce flowers faster.
Echeveria diseases and pests; Features of treatment and care for indoor flowers during this period
If the echeveria develops slowly and has small leaves, there is either a lack of soil moisture, or it is necessary to replace the pot with a more spacious one.
Due to lack of lighting, the leaves turn pale, the grayish coating disappears and the rosettes stretch out. If there is not enough watering, the rosette shrinks, the leaves of the plant wrinkle, if there is too much water, they soften, rot and are easily separated from the stem. In case of heavy damage, cut off healthy parts of the plant and root them.
The appearance of yellow-brown spots on the leaves indicates a fungal disease. The plant can be affected by spider mites, rootworms and root-knot nematodes. Appropriate medications are used for treatment.
If you decide to propagate this plant yourself, we recommend watching the video, in which you will clearly see all the stages of propagation.
Echeveria is a succulent plant from the Crassulaceae family, which is successfully grown when cared for at home. Echeveria is native to Mexico. Echeveria is popularly called stone rose. Echeveria is also called rejuvenated for its similarity to this plant.
General information
Echeveria is a perennial plant, sometimes there are also species of subshrubs. The leaves are oval in shape with a slightly pointed tip. The leaves are a clustered rosette, reminiscent of a rose. The outside surface of the leaf in some varieties is pubescent, while in others it is smooth and glossy.
The plant has a bluish-bluish tint. The foliage sometimes reaches a length of up to 25 cm and a leaf width of about 15 cm. The shoots are even, but miniature, and some species seem to sit on the ground. Canopy species are also grown, but to do this it is necessary to provide appropriate lighting.
Echeveria flower can be seen in summer. The inflorescences are not large, about 3 cm, but in large numbers and resemble bells. The flowers are on a high stalk and resemble an umbrella. The color of the flowers is bright orange or scarlet, and on the inside it is more saturated. Flowering lasts about a month.
Echeveria species and varieties
There are about 150 species in nature, but only a few are grown indoors.
This species has grayish-bluish leaves, and the rosette itself is flat in shape. The shoots of the plant are straight, but with age they become horizontal and creep. The shoots are able to take root on their own in the soil.
In a large individual, the rosette reaches up to 15 cm in diameter, and its young shoots are located on high side shoots. The leaf length reaches up to 5 cm, and the width is 2 cm. The inflorescences have a pink tint, or a bright scarlet tint with a yellow edging on top.
This species grows in one compact rosette reaching almost 30 cm in diameter. The shoots are either short or absent at all. The foliage is oblong and resembles a triangle. The surface of the leaf is smooth and glossy; the leaf is about 9 cm long and 6 cm wide.
The peduncle appears in the center of the rosette and reaches almost 40 cm. The inflorescences have a yellowish-scarlet tint. The leaf has a rich green tint with a scarlet edging along the edge.
Its individuality lies in the fact that a large number of shoots that creep are attached to it. Rosettes are about 6 cm in diameter. The shade of the leaves is whitish or bluish olive with a scarlet border along the top. The leaf is about 4 cm long and 2 cm wide. Flowers in the form of spikelets consists of 5 flowers. Pedicel about 6 cm high.
Due to its grayish-blue hue, the echeveria succulent is called. But the inflorescences of this variety have an orange tint and are attached to the side.
This is a succulent perennial species with an overgrown rosette about 20 cm in diameter. The foliage is about 6 cm in length, and due to its matte coating it has an almost white tint. The inflorescences are large, unlike other varieties, about two centimeters. The flowers have an orange hue, also with some bloom.
This is a bush species. The shoots are very small or absent. The poured almost spherical rosettes present almost a hundred dark olive-colored leaves. The leaves are shaped like a spatula with a sharp end. The leaf length is 9 cm and the width is about 3 cm. Flowering occurs in the summer. The color of the flower is yellowish-orange.
This is a succulent plant with a fleshy rosette up to 15 cm in diameter. The leaves have a slight green tint. Inflorescences are presented in lateral five-membered structures. The color of the flower is scarlet-chocolate or orange and is located on a high stalk.
Perennial species with a neat rosette with bluish leaves. Over the years, the plant develops creeping shoots. The color of the flower is yellow-orange. Flowering occurs in mid-summer.
It has elongated dense leaves with a scarlet edging. Star-shaped rosette.
Represents leaves with pointed ends. This species has a varied shade of bluish, scarlet, pink or yellow. The appearance of the flower resembles a lotus.
Or nodular has a shoot of about 20 cm. The leaves have a red edge along the edge. The inflorescences are scarlet brown and bloom in March.
Echeveria care at home
The plant needs bright, diffused lighting and in sufficient quantity, that is, all daylight hours. With sufficient lighting, the plant's leaves become denser, and the edges of the leaves become reddish.
It is preferable to grow echeveria in a south-facing location indoors. If you just bought a plant, then you should gradually accustom it to the sun so that the plant does not get sunburn on the leaves. The plant prefers an air temperature of about 25 degrees in summer, and not lower than 6 degrees in winter.
How to water echeveria
You should not moisten the plant with a spray bottle, as the leaves may begin to rot. Echeveria tolerates dry indoor air well.
In the warm season, the plant is watered as needed, when the soil in the pot dries to the very bottom. Moderate watering is required.
In winter, if the air temperature is low, watering should be reduced to a minimum. But if the air temperature is normal, then you should water constantly as needed. Water for irrigation must be settled. When watering, avoid getting water on the rosette itself with leaves, otherwise rotting will not be avoided.
Soil for echeveria
For the plant, you can purchase ready-made soil for cacti. Or mix mole soil, coarse sand in equal proportions and a little broken stone as drainage to the bottom or expanded clay.
During active development, the plant is fed with cactus fertilizer. But take half the amount indicated on the package so as not to damage the plant. In the cold season, the plant is not fertilized at all.
How to replant echeveria
The plant should be replanted every year. The container for echeveria should be selected wide and not deep. Since the rhizome of the plant is located on the surface. Replanting should be done carefully so as not to damage the leaves of the plant.
Echeveria is transplanted after purchase, after about a few weeks. Before transplanting, the plant must stop watering completely. The plant must be moved to another container with a completely dry lump of soil, and after replanting it must be watered.
Echeveria leaf propagation
This type of propagation is carried out by separating a leaf from the mother plant. Then the leaf needs to be dried to avoid rotting in the soil for about a week.
After this, the outer side of the leaf should be placed on moist soil and the temperature for rooting should be maintained at about 25 degrees. After a small rosette appears, the plants should be planted in separate containers.
Propagation of echeveria by rosettes
More popular breeding method. To do this, the daughter rosette is separated from the adult plant and the cut is treated with crushed charcoal and dried for about half a day.
After this, they are planted in coarse wet sand for rooting. This propagation method is advantageous due to the early appearance of flower stalks.
Echeveria propagation by cuttings
In echeveria, propagation by cuttings is not labor-intensive. To do this, you need to take a leaf cutting and, after the plant has withered, you need to root it in soil or sand.
After about a month, the plant takes root.
Diseases and pests
- Most often the plant damaged by scale insects . For prevention, the plant must be treated with an insecticide.
- The leaves are turning yellow the cause may be stagnation of water in the soil.
- Leaves wither The reason for this is insufficient watering of the plant.
- Echeveria's lower leaves dry out . This happens most often in winter, and after the leaves fall, new babies appear.
- The leaves have dropped and are starting to fall , the cause may be stagnation of moisture during the cold season.
- If the foliage on the plant turns and becomes smaller , the reason is incorrectly selected insecticides.
If you follow all the rules for caring for the plant, you will not have problems with growing it.
Echeveria (lat. Echeveria), or echeveria- a genus of succulent herbaceous perennials of the Crassulaceae family. There are about 170 species in the genus, most of which are distributed in Mexico, but some are found in the United States and South America. The name of the genus was given in honor of Atanasio Echeverría y Godoy, a Mexican artist who illustrated books about the plant world of Mexico. The Aborigines call this plant “stone flower” or “stone rose”.
Planting and caring for echeveria
- Bloom: about 3 weeks in spring or summer.
- Lighting: bright sunlight, bright diffused light, partial shade.
- Temperature: from spring to autumn - usual for living quarters, in winter - 9-10 ºC.
- Watering: regular, but rare: only after the substrate has completely dried.
- Air humidity: doesn't matter.
- Feeding: during the period of active growth - once a month with a solution of complex mineral fertilizer for cacti and succulents. During the rest of the year, no fertilizing is applied.
- Rest period: in winter.
- Transfer: young plants - every spring, adults - once every 3-4 years at the beginning of the growing season.
- Reproduction: stem or leaf cuttings, less often seeds.
- Diseases: fungal infections.
- Pests: the plant is resistant.
Read more about growing echeveria below.
Echeveria flower - description
The echeveria succulent forms dense rosettes with a diameter of 3 to 40 cm from fleshy, juicy, hard, moisture-filled leaves. Representatives of the genus can be stemless or have long shoots; the leaves of different types of echeveria differ in shape, color and size. Five-membered small yellow, red-brown or red-orange flowers with succulent sepals and petals, collected in an erect lateral inflorescence, are located on a long lateral or vertical peduncle.
The intensity of a flower's color often depends on the quality of the light: flowers developed in cloudy weather are usually yellow, while those formed under the sun have a red tint.
Echeverias form interspecific and intergeneric forms well, of which the most famous are sediveria, pachiveria and graptoveria. Echeveria is widespread in indoor culture.
Caring for echeveria at home
Growing Echeveria from Seeds
Propagating echeveria by seeds is the most difficult way to get a new plant: you need to pollinate the flower yourself during flowering, watch the seeds ripen and collect them in time. Then the seeds are laid out on the surface of the sand-peat substrate, lightly pressed without covering them, and kept in a bright place at a temperature of 20-25 ˚C in conditions of high air humidity, for which the crops are covered with film or glass.
As a container for growing seedlings, it is advisable to use a container with drainage holes through which excess moisture will flow out.
If you are attentive and careful, then in 2-3 weeks you will have a lot of sprouts, and when they develop three true leaves, you can plant them in separate pots and place them on the brightest windowsill in the apartment.
The echeveria plant is not afraid of heat, dry air, or direct sunlight, so it grows, develops and blooms well on windowsills oriented to the south. From spring to autumn, homemade echeveria feels comfortable at the usual room temperature for the season, but in winter you need to find a room for it where the temperature will not rise above 10˚C. If this is not possible, and the plant will overwinter in a warm room, then at least try to ensure that it gets enough light: some lovers complain that over the winter their echeveria has stretched and its stems have become bare, and the reason for this trouble is poor lighting at high air temperatures.
Watering and feeding echeveria
Water the echeveria with settled or filtered water at room temperature when the substrate in the pot is completely dry. With more frequent watering, there is a risk of rotting of the lower leaves and roots of the echeveria.
Make sure that water does not stagnate at the stem and that excess flows freely from the pot. If echeveria at home begins to feel thirsty, its leaves will become soft and begin to wrinkle.
As for air humidity, echeveria, like all succulents, is indifferent to this indicator. She does not need and even harm both spraying and washing in the shower.
In the photo: Growing echeveria in a pot in an apartment
Care must be taken when feeding echeveria, since excess fertilizer in the substrate stimulates putrefactive processes in the leaves. Mineral complexes for cacti in the form of solutions are added to the substrate once a month during the period of active growth. At the beginning of autumn, feeding is stopped. If you often update the soil in the pot, then you don’t have to fertilize it at all.
Transplantation and propagation of echeveria
Young echeverias need to change the pot and substrate every spring; for adult plants, it is enough to change the pot and soil once every 3-4 years. Echeveria pots must have drainage holes. First, a layer of drainage material - pebbles or expanded clay - is placed in a shallow pot, after which the plant is transferred from the old pot to a new one and the free space is filled with a soil mixture consisting of loamy soil (3 parts), peat (1 part), expanded clay (1 part) and charcoal (a handful).
If echeveria has already settled in your apartment, you can propagate it using vegetative methods, which are easier to implement and more reliable than growing from seeds. For example, with stem cuttings: in mid-March, apical cuttings with several leaf rosettes are separated from the mother plant and easily pressed into soil made of sand and a small amount of compost soil. Keep rooting cuttings in bright light and a temperature of 22-24 ° C, moistening the soil from time to time. Echeveria cuttings take root in 7-10 days, after which they are transplanted into permanent pots.
In indoor floriculture, propagation of echeveria by leaf is also practiced, but this method requires experience and skill, because you need to be able to separate the large lower leaves from the plant without damage. The leaves are dried for several hours, then placed horizontally on the sand and the soil is regularly moistened, preventing it from becoming waterlogged. The roots will begin to appear in a month, but a full-fledged plant will form only after 3-4 months.
Echeveria pests and diseases
Echeveria diseases and their treatment
In excessively wet soil, echeveria can suffer from fungal diseases. To prevent this from happening, try to balance the moisture content of the substrate by allowing the Echeveria soil to dry out between waterings.
All other troubles that may arise are also the result of improper maintenance or poor care. For example, fragile stems which have begun to turn gray or even black - a sign of excessive soil moisture against the background of low air temperature in the room; an elongated, loose rosette is a symptom of poor lighting.
If Echeveria leaves began to shrink, then this may be due to lack of moisture and lack of nutrients in the soil.
Shriveled leaves And sockets- a sign that the plant was not watered in extreme heat.
Types and varieties of echeveria
We offer you an introduction to the most commonly grown species and varieties of echeveria. The following types are popular in indoor culture:
A herbaceous Mexican perennial up to 15 cm high with oblong silvery-light green leaves up to 9 cm wide, collected in a dense rosette. The tips of the leaves are red.
In the photo: Echeveria agavoides
Also a Mexican succulent shrub, reaching a height of 15-20 cm. It forms a loose rosette of oblanceolate leaves covered with thick white hair with reddish-brown tips. The length of the leaves is from 6 to 10, and the width is up to 2.5 cm. The stem of the plant is covered with felt pubescence of a reddish hue.
In the photo: White-haired Echeveria (Echeveria leucotricha)
A plant with velvety leaves of a lush green color and orange-yellow flowers located on powerful peduncles. In the pubescence of the leaves and the color of the stem, this species resembles Echeveria alba, but differs from it in the obovate shape of the leaves, which can reach 6.5 cm in length and 4 cm in width.
In the photo: Echeveria pulvinata
Echeveria pilosa
A plant with a bare stem and leaves covered with delicate hair.
It reaches a height of 70 cm. Its leaves, covered with soft hair, are located along the length of the entire stem. Their undersides and edges take on a purple hue when exposed to the sun.
In the photo: Echeveria coccinea
A weakly branching succulent shrub native to Mexico that forms aerial roots on the stem in the leaf scar zone. The rosette leaves, 2 to 4 cm long and up to 1.5 cm wide, have an oblong-rhombic shape and are covered with soft pubescence. The edges of the upper part of the leaves are bordered with red. Red flowers with yellow petal edges reach a length of 3 cm.
In the photo: Echeveria harmsii
Echeveria desmetiana
Forms a rosette of bluish leaves. With age, its long stem becomes ampelous. In mid-summer, yellow-orange flowers appear on the lateral petioles of the plant. This species has relative shade tolerance and the ability to withstand regular waterlogging.
Mexican herbaceous perennial with lateral daughter rosettes. Its stem reaches a height of 5 cm, the leaves are oblong, up to 6 cm long and up to 1 cm wide, light green in color with a bluish waxy coating. The flowers are red-yellow.
In the photo: Echeveria elegans
Discovered in Mexico in 1976. This is a slow-growing, stemless species, forming a rosette up to 20 cm in diameter from beautiful and succulent leaves, bluish-white in color due to a thick waxy coating. The leaves reach 6 cm in length and 3 cm in width. Large orange flowers are also covered with a waxy coating.
In the photo: Echeveria laui
Mexican highly branched shrub up to 20 cm high with a loose rosette of obovate dark green leaves, reddening at the edges, up to 2.5 cm long and up to 1.5 cm wide. The flowers of this plant are from 10 to 13 cm long, they are red on the outside and yellow on the inside. .
In the photo: Echeveria multicaulis
A succulent up to half a meter high with a loose rosette of bright green on top and pink on the underside obovate leaves up to 8 cm long and up to 5 cm wide. There are red stripes along the upper side and along the edges of the leaves. The flowers, yellow on top and red on the inside, can reach a length of 17 cm.
In the photo: Echeveria nodulosa
A plant with flat and not so fleshy leaves with a wavy edge. The stem of this species is shortened, the leaves are tightly pressed to each other: the flower resembles a head of cabbage. In mid-summer, up to several dozen flowers open in turn on 2-3 peduncles.
In the photo: Echeveria shaviana
A herbaceous perennial, the stem of which reaches a height of 10 cm, and the rosette with a diameter of up to 15 cm consists of oblanceolate bright green leaves up to 5 cm long and up to 2 cm wide. The leaves are covered with long, sparse white hairs. The flowers of this species are yellow-red.
In the photo: Echeveria setosa
Echeveria linguaefolia
A subshrub 20-25 cm high, usually forming two fleshy trunks. Its peduncle is drooping, sometimes branching at the bottom and bearing straw-colored flowers.
Varieties and hybrid varieties of echeveria are also grown at home:
A hybrid variety with aerial roots formed in the area of leaf scars and a large loose cup-shaped rosette of wide obovate leaves.
In the photo: Echeveria × imbricata
Light-demanding hybrid variety with red-brown leaves.
In the photo: Echeveria Black Prince
Echeveria × gibbiflora Perle von Nurnberg
A plant with pink-gray leaves that eventually develops an erect stem. At home, this plant, unfortunately, does not bloom.
In the photo: Echeveria × gibbiflora
Echeveria × gibbiflora metallica
A succulent shrub of hybrid origin, 30 to 70 cm high, with aerial roots and a loose rosette of gray-pink broad-bladed leaves up to 15 cm wide and up to 30 cm long. The flowers are light red on the outside and yellow on the inside.
Echeveria Miranda
A spectacular and very popular succulent of hybrid origin with small rosettes that seem to lie on the ground, shaped like a lotus. There are varieties with different shades of leaves: bluish, purple, pink, scarlet, yellowish and silver.
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Echeveria- one of the most beautiful and most amazing succulents belonging to the Crassulaceae family. Interestingly, this flower received its name in honor of Atanasio Echeverria Codoy, a Mexican artist who illustrated books about the flora of Mexico.
Homeland of the plant is Central and South America - Peru, Mexico. In nature, Echeveria prefers flat and mountainous areas, where the scorching sun shines in the summer and the winters are mild, warm, without significant frost.
Description of Echeveria and its features
Echeveria is often called "stone rose"- a plant whose diameter does not exceed 15 cm, has the shape of an original attractive rosette of thick, fleshy leaves collected in a spiral.
The leaves themselves, depending on the type of echeveria, can be either pale light green, almost whitish, or green, with a bright burgundy border, or completely burgundy.
But even with such a variety of shades, they are united one feature— the presence of a protective coating on the surface of the sheet. It may be a waxy coating of grayish-white color or a thin velvety fluff.
This protection protects the leaves of the plant from the scorching summer sun or from the winter cold. Under the influence of the sun plaque thickness increases slightly, giving the leaves a smoky bluish tint.
Succulent flowering most often occurs in the spring-summer period, but some varieties of echeveria can produce flowers in winter. The flowers are formed at the end of the peduncle, which, depending on the species, can reach a height of 90 cm. Flowering, which requires a lot of sun to maintain, is abundant and long-lasting.
Varieties of Echeveria
Currently, there are more than 150 species of “stone rose”, many of which were the result of the work of breeders who obtained new plant species through interspecific crossing. The most common types found in home floriculture are:
(Echeveria agavoides) - this plant forms stemless, star-shaped rosettes from its fleshy leaves. The variety is interesting for its yellow-pink flowers that appear on the succulent in the summer.
(Echeveria glauca) - distinguished by original foliage of a grayish-bluish hue with a pink frame around the edge.
(Echeveria elegans) is the most common decorative type of echeveria. It is a perennial herbaceous plant with a thick stem. The initially erect stem of the succulent becomes lodged with age and can take root. Numerous leaves are almost white, with translucent edges and a pointed top. This species produces orange-red flowers with a yellow tip, which are collected in racemes.
(Echeveria derenbergii) - this species is distinguished by many lateral leaf rosettes located on long creeping stems. Light green leaves with a bluish coating have a reddish edge. Flowering is long-lasting, with yellow-red flowers collected in a spike-shaped inflorescence.
(Echeveria gibbiflora) is a small bush with an erect, slightly branched tree-like stem, at the top of which there is a dense rosette with large leaves. The edges of the leaves are wavy, the apex is pointed. The flowers are light red, collected in a spike-shaped inflorescence. This type of echeveria is interesting due to its varietal diversity.
Echeveria"The Pearl of Nuremberg"(Echeveria “Perle von Nurnberg”) is a hybrid variety of humpbacked Echeveria with pinkish-gray leaves. Does not bloom at home.
(Echeveria laui) - has a loose, leafy rosette. Thanks to the abundant wax coating, which gives the plant a special decorative appearance, the leaves have a smoky gray tint.
Features of home care
Echeveria as typical representative of succulent plants, grows slowly, but lives long. In order for it to always please with its unusual appearance, it is necessary to bring the conditions of its maintenance as close as possible to natural ones, especially since caring for the plant is quite simple and not burdensome.
Lighting and choosing a place for a plant
Good lighting is one of the main conditions for normal growth of stone rose. The pot should be placed on sunny windowsills, and the windows can be oriented to any side of the world, with the exception of the north.
Echeveria is not afraid direct sunlight, which means it does not need shading.
In summer, it is advisable to take the flowerpot with a stone rose out into the fresh air - a balcony or veranda, not forgetting to protect the plant from rain.
Temperature
In the summer, echeveria will feel comfortable at a temperature of +18 - 25 degrees. Winter for many species of this plant is rest period, so it is quite enough to provide +10-15 degrees in the room. But this does not apply to species that bloom in winter; they should always remain in a well-lit, warm place.
Watering and fertilizing
Watering a succulent necessary regularly, but not abundantly, it is better to wait until the top layer of soil in the flowerpot dries about 3 cm deep. In winter, watering is reduced to a minimum, watering approximately once a month, especially if the room is not very hot.
For watering You need settled water at room temperature. It is important to ensure that when watering, water does not get into the plant’s outlets, otherwise rotting may begin. Like other succulents, echeveria prefers air with low humidity, so spraying the “rose” and giving it a shower is not recommended.
Starting in early spring, stone rose needs feeding.
In winter, the plant is not fed.
Echeveria transplant
Young specimens are replanted annually, in the spring, adults - only as needed. Doing so need to be very careful, since the plant is easily damaged.
For landing best fit flat wide containers with a well-equipped drainage system. A drainage layer of clay shards, expanded clay or pebbles should occupy about 1/3 of the pot.
Stone rose prefers a neutral, low-nutrient loose substrate, which can be based on a ready-made specialized mixture for succulents. It is necessary to add coarse river sand, fine crushed stone or brick chips and crushed charcoal to prevent the appearance of root rot.
Reproduction
Echeveria reproduces quite easily. To get a new instance, use:
- leaf cuttings;
- apical rosettes;
- seeds.
Reproduction techniques the cuttings and apical rosettes are very similar. The material cut from the mother plant is slightly dried, and it is recommended to treat it with charcoal. After 8-10 hours, the cuttings or rosettes are planted in a suitable light substrate for rooting.
If propagation is successful, rooting occurs within a week, however, not all types of echeveria are easily propagated by leaves, so more reliable option is the use of daughter sockets.
Propagation by seeds- a more labor-intensive process and is not used as often. To do this, at the beginning of March, seeds are sown in the prepared soil, and the entire container is covered with a transparent film or glass.
The necessary conditions for seed germination - frequent spraying of the substrate and maintaining the temperature under the film at 21-23 degrees. The first shoots will appear in two weeks. Slightly grown seedlings are planted in small containers with a special substrate of sand and leaf soil.
When the plant reaches a diameter of 3-4 cm, it is transplanted into a permanent pot. with "adult" soil.
Diseases and pests
Echeveria, thanks to its reliable wax or fleecy protection, is extremely rarely damaged. Sometimes brown spots appear, indicating.
The biggest troubles that may arise, are associated with improper care of the plant. Thus, due to excessive watering or an imperfect drainage system, the development of gray rot, a sign of which is softening and easy separation of the leaves from the stem.
If the leaves are wrinkled and the rosette of the plant seems to be compressed towards the middle, Echeveria needs urgent watering.
About the history, types and features of caring for echeveria (stone rose) at home, watch the video:
Echeveria is very decorative and looks great in combination with other succulents, especially if a stone is added to the composition. This plant is a great option for room decoration or to create a botanical garden or alpine slide.
Echeveria is a heat-loving flower native to hot Mexico. Flower growers successfully grow it on window sills, in florariums or greenhouse rocky gardens. An unpretentious and extremely decorative echeveria does not cause any trouble in caring for and readily grows at home.
Description of the plant
There are many varieties of Echeveria
Echeveria (or echeveria) is a resident of the arid rocky plains and mountain slopes of Central America. The flower received its name in honor of the illustrator Atanasio Echeverría, who designed the book “Flora of Mexico” back in the century before last. Another name, “stone rose,” is associated with the appearance of the plant - its dense rosettes really resemble roses.
The genus Echeveria belongs to the Crassulaceae family and unites about two hundred species. Growing in a dry, hot climate determines the main distinctive features of echeveria. The plants have fleshy leaves, collected in a dense rosette, ranging from 3 to 30 cm long and 1–15 cm wide. The leaf blades are flat or cylindrical, with a pointed tip, covered with a waxy coating or pubescent. This leaf structure allows echeveria to tolerate sudden changes in temperature, heat and cold. The color is bluish-green, the ends of the leaves are darker, reddish-brown.
The stem of most species is shortened and almost invisible, although there are also bushy echeverias. Echeveria blooms with bell-shaped flowers, which are located on inflorescences from 4 to 50 cm long. The size of individual bells is 1–3 cm, the color is red, yellow-green, orange. Often at the ends of the peduncles an additional rosette develops with fleshy waxy leaves smaller in size than on the mother plant.
Juveniles are often mistaken for echeveria, but they look more like artichokes
On a note! Even experienced gardeners sometimes confuse echeveria with another similar plant - Sempervivum. However, these are two completely different plants, and accordingly, the conditions for their maintenance are different. Juveniles are frost-resistant; they can be easily grown on alpine hills in open ground, while echeveria does not tolerate sub-zero temperatures. Another difference between echeveria is the fleshier and thicker leaves compared to the young ones.
Echeveria as an indoor flower is represented by many species. They mainly differ in size, leaf color and rosette shape. In terms of content, all varieties are absolutely unpretentious, so you can safely choose any variety you like.
Known varieties of echeveria - table
| Variety | Size and shape of leaf rosette | Size, shape, color of leaves | Flowers |
| Echeveria agavoides | A bushy plant with a very short stem. The rosettes are dense and round. | The leaves are up to 9 cm long and up to 6 cm wide, widening from the base and then sharply narrowing, with a pointed tip. The color of the leaves is light green, at the ends the leaves are yellowish-green, covered with a noticeable waxy coating of bluish color. | The flowers are collected in inflorescences about 40 cm long, which appear from the center of the rosette. The shape of the flowers is round bells, the color is yellow or red. Blooms in spring and summer. |
| Echeveria white-haired (leucotricha) | A short-stemmed plant with a rosette about 15 cm in diameter. | The leaves are lanceolate, oblong, and their outer side is flat, and the lower side is convex, rounded. The leaf blades are green with a brown border along the edge, densely covered with light hairs. | The flowers are reddish-brown, located on peduncles 40–50 cm long. Blooms in spring. |
| Echeveria fulgens Lera | Bushy appearance with thick shoots. Second-order shoots with small rosettes at the ends grow from the central rosette. | The leaves are oval-oblong, with a sharp tip, up to 10 cm long and up to 4 cm wide. The color is light green, with a pronounced waxy coating around the edges. | The flowers are bright red, 1–2 cm in size. Flowering in February - March. |
| Echeveria humpback flower (Gibbiflora) | A plant with tree-like, unbranched shoots, at the tops of which there are small (15–20 leaves) rosettes. | The leaves are rounded-lanceolate, slightly pointed at the end. They are slightly concave on the outside and curved on the inside. The edge of the leaf blade is slightly wavy; there are varieties with pronounced wavy. The color ranges from bluish-green to reddish-gray with a lighter border along the edge. | Flowers are red-yellow round bells measuring 2 cm. |
| Echeveria Derenbergii | It has creeping shoots with very dense, regularly shaped rosettes at the ends. | The leaves are up to 4 cm long and up to 2 cm wide, spatulate in shape, located very close to each other. The color of the leaf blades is bluish-green with a colored (usually pinkish or brownish) edging along the edge. | Inflorescences 6–15 cm with red-yellow bells. |
| Echeveria elegans Rose | The stem is very short, the rosettes are quite dense. | The leaves are up to 5 cm long, 2 cm wide, rounded, with a sharp tip. The color is light green with a silvery-gray tinge. | The flowers are pink, with a yellow tip, appearing on branched peduncles in late spring. |
| Echeveria pulvinata | A plant with a short herbaceous stem and loose rosette. | The leaves are oval, very fleshy, up to 5 cm long and 2 cm wide. The green leaf plate is densely pubescent with short silvery hairs, and there are small spines on the tops of the leaves. | The flowers are 1–2 cm in size, pubescent and red-yellow in color. Flowering from early March. |
| Echeveria Peakotsky, or Peacockii (peacockii) | Plants with a low, erect stem, at the top of which there are loose rosettes with a diameter of about 10 cm. | The leaves are rounded-spatulate, with a sharp tip. The color is uniform green with a bluish tinge. | Red flowers are collected on drooping peduncles. Blooms in late spring - early summer. |
| Echeveria shaviana, or Shaw (shaviana) | Herbaceous short stem, rather dense rosette of regular shape. | The leaves are flat, oval, with a sharp tip. The color is bluish-green. There are varieties with a wavy edge. | Pink flowers are collected in inflorescences on branched erect peduncles. Blooms in early summer. |
| Echeveria bristly (setosa Rose et Purp) | The plant is practically without a stem, the rosettes are dense. correct form. | The leaves are lanceolate, fleshy, up to 10 cm long and up to 4 cm wide. The color is uniform, bright green. The entire leaf blade is covered with short, spiny, silvery bristles. | The flowers are small, about 1 cm, collected in inflorescences 30–40 cm high. Blooms in early summer. |
Popular varieties in the photo
Optimal conditions for keeping echeveria - table
Important! Do not forget that echeveria is a resident of arid and hot regions. In order for it to manifest itself in all its glory, it needs to create conditions that are as close to natural as possible.
Video about the plant
Planting and transplanting
After purchasing the echeveria, it is advisable to immediately transplant it into a permanent pot with suitable soil, because store-bought substrate is often unsuitable for long-term cultivation of this flower.
In nature, echeveria grows in rock crevices and on rocky screes. In such conditions, rainwater does not linger at the roots, but immediately flows off. The soil in the pot should also drain water very well. Moreover, the pebbles are not only placed at the bottom of the container, but also mixed evenly with the soil. This can be small pebbles, broken bricks or gravel with a fraction of 4–6 mm. Sand and vermiculite are absolutely not suitable, sand has too small particles, and vermiculite retains moisture.
Optimal soil composition for echeveria:
- garden soil - 3 parts;
- pebbles - 1 part;
- peat - 1 part;
- some charcoal.
Alternatively, you can take purchased soil for cacti or succulents and add some stones to it.
On a note! It is very easy to determine whether an echeveria soil mixture is suitable. Squeeze a handful of substrate in your hand and see what happens - if the soil has turned into a lump, then it is too heavy for echeveria, but if it has crumbled, then it is just right.
The correct choice of pot plays an important role in growing a plant. Echeveria has a weak superficial root system, so it needs a wide and shallow container with a drainage hole in the bottom. The diameter of the pot should be 1–1.5 cm larger than the diameter of the leaf rosette.
On a note! Group plantings in spacious flower boxes look beautiful. With the help of several varieties of succulents and a handful of decorative stones, you can create a real miniature garden. Such a composition must be watered very carefully so that the roots of the echeveria do not rot in a large volume of soil.
Young specimens require annual replanting; adult plants are replanted only as needed, when the old pot becomes too small. The soil for replanting is taken the same as for the first planting.
Echeveria needs small pots
Growing in a florarium
Recently, it has become popular to grow a mix of indoor plants in mini-greenhouses, so-called florariums. Initially, only demanding plants were planted in florariums to provide them with the necessary microclimate. Currently, mini-greenhouses have become a real interior decoration, because behind the glass you can recreate a piece of the natural landscape. Echeveria is great for a desert or rocky florarium. Compactness, slow growth, undemanding soil and watering make it an ideal candidate for growing under glass.
Echeveria is great for creating a desert landscape
Making such a florarium is very simple. To do this you need:
- Carefully pour a drainage layer (small pebbles mixed with charcoal) into a glass container, and a layer of soil for echeverias on top of it.
- Using large tweezers and a wooden peg, plant several bushes and carefully water them from a small watering can with a narrow spout.
- Fill empty spaces with decorative stones or coarse quartz sand.
- For care, such a florarium only needs to be watered very moderately from time to time.
Plant care
Watering and humidity
Echeveria thrives in low humidity, so it can be safely placed in rooms with dry air or near heating devices.
Important! This flower is not sprayed! Excess moisture can cause leaves to rot. For the same reason, avoid getting water on the leaf rosette when watering.
Water echeveria very sparingly. In summer, in hot weather, this is done more often, as soon as the earthen ball dries well. In winter, watering is reduced; the lower the temperature, the less moisture the plant requires. Remember that stagnation of water is detrimental to echeveria.
Feeding
The flower is fed only during the period of active growth, that is, from the beginning of spring to the end of summer. Ready-made mixtures for succulents are used as fertilizer, for example Agricola for cacti and succulents, Absolut, Stimovit for succulents. As a rule, fertilizing is applied along with watering once a month. In the autumn-winter period, echeveria is not fed.
Important! Fertilizers can be applied only 2 months after planting or replanting the flower.
How to make echeveria bloom
Many varieties of echeveria readily bloom on windowsills. If the plant does not want to produce buds, you can help it. This is achieved by regulating the length of daylight and temperature. If you keep the bushes for 1.5–2 months at a temperature of +15…+18 °C and the daylight hours are only 12–13 hours, by the end of this period the first buds will appear.
On a note! Very young plants will not bloom. Typically, echeverias bloom only after 2–3 years of life.
During flowering, echeveria requires more abundant watering and fertilizing with complex fertilizer for flowering plants. After flowering, a dormant period begins during which watering and fertilizing are reduced.
Blooming echeveria bushes look very elegant
Possible problems and ways to solve them - table
| Problem | Causes | Solutions |
| Gray spots on leaves, violation of the wax layer. |
|
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| Leaves and stems become brittle and turn gray or black. | Excessive watering combined with low temperatures. |
|
| The rosette stretched out and became loose. The leaves have turned pale. | Lack of lighting. |
|
| Small leaves, very slow growth. |
|
|
| Leaves and rosettes wrinkle. | No watering in hot weather. |
|
Diseases and pests
Echeveria, like other Crassulaceae, is resistant to diseases and pests. The main dangers are mealybugs, rootbugs and root-knot nematodes.
Pest control methods - table
| Pest | Signs | Treatment |
| Mealybug | Pockets of wax threads, similar to fluff or cotton wool, appear on the rosette. The leaves become covered with a sticky coating. If you look closely, you can see oval, whitish insects covered with a powdery coating. Plants stop growing and become depressed. |
|
| Root mealybug | The plant is depressed, stops growing, the leaves lose their elasticity and become lethargic. The earthen lump seems to be entangled in white cotton wool - these are the nests of scale insects. |
|
| Root nematode | General oppression of the plant. Bead-shaped thickenings are noticeable on the roots. Over time, the roots rot. |
|
Flower propagation at home
Echeverias are easy to propagate by leaf cuttings, apical or basal rosettes. You can try to grow a flower from seeds, but this is a more labor-intensive method.
Leaf cuttings
- The lower leaves, large and healthy, are broken off from the mother plant. Leave to dry for 2-3 hours.
- A mixture of garden soil and coarse sand is placed in the pot in a ratio of 2:1. 2–3 mm of clean sand is poured on top.
- The leaves are pressed into the ground with scraps, positioning them slightly obliquely.
- Spray the cuttings from a spray bottle and cover with a plastic bag.
- The pot with cuttings is regularly moistened and the shelter is ventilated. The temperature for keeping cuttings is about +25 °C.
- After 2–3 weeks, young rosettes appear at the base of the leaves. After the mother leaf has completely dried, small echeverias are planted in separate pots.
Plants are planted after the mother leaves have dried.
Root or apical rosettes
By rooting entire rosettes, you can get a full-fledged plant within a year. Rooting stages:
- Using a sharp knife, cut off the basal or apical rosette and remove 3-4 lower leaves. Leave it to dry in a shaded place for 3-4 hours.
- Prepare a 1:1 mixture of garden soil and coarse sand or fine gravel and fill a small pot with it.
- Stick the socket into the soil and water lightly.
- Keep at a temperature of 22–24 degrees, water regularly (the ground should be constantly moist).
- After a month, the rosette will begin to grow, and after another 1–2 months it can be transplanted into a permanent pot. If the bush grows slowly, you can leave it until next year and only then replant it.
Rooted rosettes begin to grow quickly
Seeds
If after flowering the echeveria has formed fruit boxes, you can try growing new bushes from seeds. To do this, they are sown in a mixture of peat soil and coarse sand (1:1). This is done in February - March.
Important! Echeveria seeds are very small, so they are not sprinkled with soil, but only lightly pressed into the surface.
The crops are moistened with a spray bottle and covered with glass. Subsequently, they are kept at a temperature of 20–25 degrees, regularly moistened and ventilated. In two to three weeks, sprouts will appear. After 2–3 months, grown seedlings are planted in small pots. When the rosettes grow to 3 cm in diameter, they are transplanted again to a permanent place.