Echeveria (Echeveria)

Succulents, stemless, perennial, herbaceous, low-growing plants, sometimes subshrubs with a short branched fleshy stem. Leaves very densely arranged, spirally, forming a rosette; entire-margined, more or less fleshy, flat to rounded, green, covered with a grayish-white bloom, somewhat reddening. Flowering stem 30-90 cm long, axillary, sometimes branched, racemose, or the flowers are arranged umbel-like. Flowers numerous. Distributed in Mexico; several species range from Texas to California (USA) and Peru. There are about 150 species in the genus. Many species are widely known in cultivation as ornamental plants for floral design, for interior decoration, and as pot plants; they are well represented in botanical garden collections.

Echeveria is named after the 19th-century Mexican artist Atanasio Echeverria, who illustrated books on the flora of Mexico. Echeveria readily forms interspecific and intergeneric hybrids, for example Pachyveria, Graptoveria, Sedeveria.

Species:

Echeveria agavoides Echeveria agavoides Lem. -
succulents, perennial herbaceous stemless plants. Leaves thick, ovate, up to 7 cm long, gradually tapering to a brown spine, flat above, grayish-green with a reddish tinge. Flowering shoots 20-30 cm tall, consisting of two one-sided sparsely flowered racemes. Flowers slightly nodding, 1.2-1.5 cm long, on pedicels of the same length, rounded-bell-shaped, orange-red with a yellow tip. Flowers in April-May. Native to Mexico.

Echeveria fulgens Echeveria fulgens Lem. (E. retusa Lindl.) -
succulents, slightly branched subshrubs; stems thick, short. Leaves in a rosette, obovate, spatulate, up to 10 cm long and 4 cm wide, sometimes notched at the tip, glaucous at the margins, slightly undulate. Generative shoots robust, 20-50 cm tall, branched. Flowers arranged in racemes or umbels, bright red, 1.5 cm long. Blooms abundantly in winter and early spring. Native to Mexico. Valuable ornamental plants.

Echeveria leucotricha Echeveria leucotricha -
succulents, white-felted subshrubs. Leaves in a rosette 10-15 cm in diameter, lanceolate, thick-fleshed, densely white-hairy, with brown tips. Flowering stem 30-40 cm long, many-flowered. Flowers cinnabar-red. Blooms abundantly in March-May. Native to Mexico.

Echeveria perelegans Echeveria perelegans Berger -
succulents, perennial herbaceous plants. Leaves in sessile, dish-shaped rosettes, with lateral non-sessile rosettes; obovate, 5-6 cm long and 2.5 cm wide, almost white with translucent margins, with a spine at the tip. Flowering stem branched; flowers gathered in nodding one-sided racemes, pink-red with a yellow tip. Blooms abundantly in May-June. A highly ornamental plant, widely cultivated.

Echeveria pulvinata Echeveria pulvinata -
succulents, low-growing up to 20 cm tall, subshrubs. Leaves in a sparsely leaved loose rosette, obovate, 4-5 cm long and 2.5 cm wide, fleshy, 0.8-1 cm thick, with a short spine at the tip, convex below, flat above, white-felted. Flowering stem erect. Flowers 2 cm long, thick, hairy, reddish with yellow. Blooms in March-April. Native to Oaxaca (Mexico). There are a number of cultivars. Very ornamental plant.

Echeveria setosa Echeveria setosa -
succulents, perennial herbaceous plants, low-growing, white-felted. Leaves in a densely leaved, flat rosette, green, white-hairy. Several flowering stems, 20-30 cm tall. Flowers in one-sided racemes, yellow-red. Blooms abundantly and for a long time from April to July. Native to Mexico. Many cultivars exist in cultivation.

Care tips:

Location: the plant is extremely light-loving and needs direct sunlight. In summer it is beneficial to place it outdoors; it can be planted on a south-facing rock garden in the yard. In winter water 2-3 times a month and keep at a temperature of 6-10 °C.

Light: bright light

Watering: abundant in summer with drying of the soil ball between waterings; water in the saucer should be drained.

Air humidity: moderate

Care: the rest period lasts from October to February. From March to July the plant should be fed with mineral fertilizers, including nitrogenous fertilizers. Remove yellowed leaves in time and loosen the soil. To maintain an ornamental shape, radical pruning or replacement with young plants is necessary. Echeverias are short-day plants, but they respond to changes in day length: therefore, by regulating day length, flowering time can be altered. The most favorable conditions for flower formation are a temperature of 15-18 °C and a short day of 12-13 hours for 50 days. For different species slight variations in the duration of the short day are possible (up to 60 days), and plants should be at least one year old (in natural conditions, starting in February the intensity of the long day increases and flowering occurs at a long day and a temperature of 20°C). Day length and temperature are regulated only for breeding purposes.

Propagation: easily propagated by leaves, cuttings, offsets and seeds. Subshrubs are also propagated by shoot tips. Cuttings are planted in trays, pots or directly into the greenhouse bench or seed boxes. Before planting, cuttings (and leaves) are slightly wilted. Soil mix for cuttings: clean sand or compost soil - 1 part, mixed with sand - 1 part. Cuttings root quickly. Cuttings are taken in spring - in March-May, but can be taken throughout the growing season. Rooted cuttings are planted one per small pots (7 cm). For floral design, basal small rosettes of leaves are taken in the first year, since after rooting they can be used for edging. When sowing by seed, germination is observed within 12-14 days, however production-ready plants can be prepared in six months (usually a year), therefore in commercial practice Echeverias are propagated vegetatively.

Repotting: once every two years in spring is sufficient; use a not-too-large pot and soil for cacti.

Possible problems: susceptible to mealybugs and phylloxera.