How to Grow Echeveria Plant

Echeverias are succulent plants native to desert regions of Mexico and western South America. The genus Echeveria belongs to the Crassulaceae family and includes more than 150 species. This beautiful plant, widely used for its ease of care and its attractive colonies of rosettes, is a perennial succulent with evergreen foliage. The fleshy, silvery-green leaves are smooth or hairy and the majority has a pointed apex. The flowers of this large genus are hermaphrodite, actinomorphic and pentamer and can have a yellow, coral-pink or reddish-orange color.
Echeverias are very hardy and tolerant plants, so they can be grown outdoor or indoor to give a gorgeous touch to our gardens, balconies and homes. For that, here there are some practical tips to grow and maintain an Echeveria

How to grow Echeveria

Echeverias, like most plants, can be grown by sowing seeds obtained from the berries produced during fruiting. They can also be multiplied very easily by division which consists of replanting separate sections of the plant having roots and shoots. The cutting of leaves or stems is also very simple to succeed and consists of replanting a part of the leaf or stem in a suitable environment.

Caring for Echeveria

Planting period

The best season to plant or repot an Echeveria is spring characterized by a warm weather and increasing of the length of daylight.

Climate

Echeverias prefer cooler areas, do not support frost and can die in freezing temperatures. For that, it is necessary to keep them indoor in a warm place during the cold seasons then moving them outside during spring.

Sunlight

Most Echeverias need 4 to 8 hours of bright light, but not direct hot sun. For that, it is recommended to expose the small Echeverias to filtered but bright light to prevent sun damage and then change the intensity of the light gradually. The big plants must be exposed to bright light to avoid the etiolation and to give them their daily light quotation.

Soil

Like the other succulents (Cactaceae, Agavaceae, Euphorbiaceae…), Echeverias need a well drained soil in order to avoid the high humidity that promotes the development of moistures. Some mixtures are easy to prepare and must contain 2/3 of potting soil or decomposed compost and 1/3 of sand, the whole mixture is situated on a layer of non-calcareous gravel.

Water

Excessive watering causes rotting of the Echeverias, however, insufficient watering causes a leaves fall. The optimum is to water 1 to 2 times a week during flowering, 1 to 2 times every 15 days during the summer and a light watering once a month during the winter.
When you water Echeverias, water the soil not the rosette and prevent water from stagnating on the substrate.

Fertilize

Succulents don’t require lot of nutrients for their growth, but it will be beneficial to add a slow-release fertilizer once a month during the growth phase.

Echeverias monitoring

If Echeverias are grown outdoors, they can be attacked by mealybugs as well as snails and slugs. Protect the plants from these pests by removing dead leaves and ensure a sunny position and a dry soil .