Echeveria care guide

Echeverias are the rose-shaped succulents in blue, gray, pink, and purple that fill every garden center. They are easy to keep alive and hard to keep pretty indoors. The trick is light. Without strong sun, they stretch.

Echeverias cannot handle frost. The hardy outdoor “hens and chicks” are a different plant, Sempervivum.

Light

Give echeveria your sunniest window. A south or west window is best. Four or more hours of direct sun keeps it tight and colorful.

In low light, the center stretches up, the leaves space out, and the rosette loses its shape. This is called etiolation, and it does not reverse. A grow light helps in a dim home or a Canadian winter.

A plant moved outside for summer needs a week in shade first, or it sunburns.

Water

Water when the soil is dry all the way down. Water until it drains, then empty the saucer. Pour water on the soil, not into the rosette.

In spring and summer, that is often every two weeks. In winter, it can be once a month. Soft, mushy, or see-through leaves mean too much water. Wrinkled, thin leaves mean too little. Read how to tell if a houseplant is overwatered or underwatered.

Soil and potting

Use cactus and succulent mix with extra perlite or pumice. A shallow terracotta pot with a drainage hole is ideal.

Repot every two years in spring. See how to repot a houseplant step by step.

Humidity and temperature

Dry indoor air is fine. Keep it between 13 and 27°C (55 and 80°F). Cool nights bring out pink and red tones.

Feeding

Feed once or twice in spring and summer with a cactus fertilizer at half strength. Skip fall and winter.

The powdery coating

Many echeverias wear a white or blue powder called farina. It protects the leaves from sun. Touching or wiping it leaves marks that do not heal. Handle the plant by the pot.

Pruning

Pull off dry, dead lower leaves. They can hide pests. If a plant has stretched, cut the rosette off with a few centimeters of stem, let it dry for a few days, and replant it. The old stem often sprouts new rosettes.

Propagation

• Leaves. Twist off a healthy lower leaf whole. Let it dry for a few days. Lay it on dry cactus mix in bright, indirect light. Roots and a tiny rosette grow in a few weeks. Mist the soil now and then.
• Offsets. Many echeverias grow small rosettes around the base. Cut one free and pot it up.

Problems

What you see	Most likely cause
Center stretches up, leaves spread out	Not enough light
Soft, mushy, see-through leaves	Too much water
Wrinkled, thin lower leaves	Too dry, or normal aging
Brown, dry patches	Sunburn after a sudden move into sun
Marks on the powdery coating	Fingers or water. It does not wipe off.
Rot in the center	Water sitting in the rosette

Pests

Mealybugs hide between the leaves and on the roots. Dab them with rubbing alcohol on a cotton swab. Fungus gnats mean the soil stays wet too long. Read how to get rid of fungus gnats in houseplants.

Pet safety

The ASPCA lists echeveria as non-toxic to cats and dogs.

Varieties

• ‘Perle von Nürnberg’ has pink and lavender leaves.
• Mexican snowball, Echeveria elegans, has pale blue rosettes that make lots of offsets.
• ‘Lola’ has pale, pearly lavender leaves.
• ‘Black Prince’ has near-black leaves.
• ‘Topsy Turvy’ has leaves that curl up and inward.
• Echeveria agavoides has stiff, pointed leaves with red tips.