Introducing...
Echeveria
Botanical name: Echeveria
Common name: Echeveria
These succulent plants are compact, fascinating and easy to grow. Their beautifully coloured, evergreen leaves and attractive flowers make them highly collectable.
Looks
Echeverias form small rosettes of succulent leaves in a choice of colours, including glaucous blue, greyish-pink and various shades of green, depending on the species. In summer they send up stalks of small bell-shaped flowers, usually yellow or pink. Mature echeverias produce little plantlets, or offsets, to create an ever-expanding clump.
Likes
They enjoy bright but indirect light and modest watering, ideally with rainwater, once the compost approaches dryness. Plant them in cactus compost, which is gritty and sharply draining, in a pot with plenty of drainage holes. They like a rest over winter – a cooler, drier, dormant period with just a light watering every few weeks to prevent shrivelling and leaf loss.
Dislikes
Echeverias dislike being wet or cold. Keep them above 10°C (50°F) and only water when the compost starts to feel dry, never leave them sitting in water, and reduce watering in winter, otherwise the roots may rot. Fluoride in tap water can damage the leaves, so use rainwater if possible. In winter, if kept too warm and/or watered too regularly, they’ll make weak, spindly growth that can spoil their good looks.
Did you know?
As well as making great houseplants, echeverias can be grown outside in summer, adding an exotic look to borders, containers and even hanging baskets. But they aren’t hardy, so bring them back indoors well before the first frost.
Growing guide
How to grow houseplant cacti and succulents
All you need to know to grow echeverias and other succulents successfully in your home.
Echeverias we recommend
Echeveria agavoides
moulded wax succulent
- 0.1–0.5 metres
- 0.1–0.5 metres
Echeveria agavoides
moulded wax succulent
- 0.1–0.5 metres
- 0.1–0.5 metres
Useful houseplant advice
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Get involved
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