Echeveria | How to Grow and Care Guide

What is Echeveria?

Echeveria are part of a large family of plants of Crassulaceae, this family of plants is native to Mexico and surrounding semi-desert areas of Central America, but are widely available and grown across the world.

Their popularity is in no small part due to their aesthetic appeal. They form compact, tightly formed rosettes of succulent leaves that are beautifully photogenic and insta ready!

From bluish-grey to dusty pinks and even velvety, almost black, they can have a dreamy and pastel quality to their colouring which comes from a special coating on their leaves.

The coating on it's leaves is called epicuticular wax. This covering is also referred to as 'farina' and acts as a dual raincoat and sunscreen to the echeveria’s leaves, it also stops any moisture from leaching out of the plant. 

The plants' low growing form and succulent leaves are not just aesthetically pleasing to us, they serve the plant well in their natural habitat, in high elevation habitats where days are continuously dry and the soil is arid and rocky (so there is no need to grow tall and lush).

Storing water is an essential and the leaves are how the plant survives and feeds itself when rainfall is scarce. Their ability to hold water in their leaves, keep it for when it's needed and survive on the bare minimum make this plant very drought tolerant. 

Types of Echeveria to Grow in Australia

Whoever you are and whatever your gardening skill level, there will be an echeveria to suit you. Why not try collecting every variety you can and using the rich spectrum of colour to create amazing living artwork that will change with the season.

The beauty of this plant is that they can be as high or low maintain acne as you want them to be, you may even find yourself creating your own hybrids one day.

How to Grow Echeverias 

We've touched on just how low maintenance these plants can be, but just in case you have the death touch when it comes to all plants, here are some helpful tips on how to keep your plant happy and healthy. 

Growing Echeveria Indoors

Best Soil for Indoor Growing

The most important element to get thighs for your echeveria is drainage. An echeveria that's allowed to sit in wet soil is a recipe for disaster. Your plant will thrive in a free draining, gritty, even rocky potting mix alongside being housed in a pot with decent sized drainage holes.

Indoor Light Requirements 

Echeveria loves bright light, so don't worry about placing it too close to a bright window. Remember these plants have built in mechanisms to cope with bright sunshine - their farina sunscreen.

However if you're unable to provide enough light for your plant indoors it would benefit from spending the warmer summer months outside to soak up the rays.

Watering Echeveria

If there's one thing that your plant doesn't need, it's lots and lots of water. Echeveria are incredible at conserving water but this doesn't mean that you shouldn't regularly check and give them a drink if they need it.

Waiting until the top couple of inches of soil are dry before watering, and use the finger test to make sure. Another sign that your plant might need a drink is puckering of the normally plump leaves. 

What Fertiliser to Use

Generally, echeveria aren't greedy feeders and don't need to be fertilised, however during the growing season a well diluted cacti and succulent feed will benefit your plant especially when growing indoors. 

Repotting Echeveria

When growing in their natural habitat, echeveria will happily grow in the tightest of spaces so re-potting doesn't need to be a regular exercise. If your plant has become fully root bound in its current pot and you can see visible roots poking out of the bottom of the pot it's definitely ready to be potted on. 

Growing Echeveria Outdoors

Best Soil for Outdoor Growing 

Your echeveria will happily grow outdoors with adequate protection all through the year. The best way to ensure your plant will last through the winter is to plant into free draining soil in pots.

Echeveria do prefer a slightly acidic soil but the most important element is that your pot has large drainage holes and a very free draining, gritty potting mix.

Watering Echeveria

There is no need to water your echeveria if it's growing outside, it should get all the water it needs without any supplementary watering. They are adapted to drought conditions but if you notice that your plant has any wrinkly leaves during any dry spells it can't hurt to give it an extra drink. 

Echeveria can survive in low temperatures but they won't last long if left in cold wet soil so during the winter protect your plants from very damp and cold conditions. 

Propagating Echeveria

Propagating echeveria couldn't be easier, in fact they'll do it for you! 

Pups

These little baby plants known as pups will pop up during the growing season and can be carefully teased out and potted up separately into their own free-draining potting mix. If your plant is producing pups it shows that it is happy and healthy, excellent work!

Leaf Cuttings

During spring or summer simply parting a leaf from your plant and placing the wound side down into soil will eventually grow new plants. If you find any leaves that have fallen off your echeveria oftentimes these can also be used to propagate from, unless the leaf has fallen off due to ill health or has been damaged.

Seed

Yes believe it or not you can save seed from your plant and grow new plants from seed. This form of propagation is a little more work than anything else involved in your echeveria care book but worth the very small amount of effort involved.

You'll need to pollinate your echeveria yourself using a small paintbrush and this will only produce true seed on plants being grown indoors. Once your plant is in bloom, tickling the inside of the flower will transfer pollen and pollinate your flower, the next step is collecting the seed. 

Your pollinated echeveria flower will need to look thoroughly spent and have dried out completely before removing the flower collecting the seed.

Using a white piece of paper, gently remove the flower petals and sepals and rub the seeds onto the paper, they will be very tiny so the white paper is a must. Your echeveria seeds are now ready to be sown.

Echeveria Common Pests and Problems

Generally, echeveria pests aren't a problem, especially when growing outdoors in your garden or outdoor space. However when growing indoors, your plant may come across some typical houseplant pests which, with proper care and dutiful attention, can easily be tackled and resolved.

You may come across spider mites which are extremely small and will produce webbing on parts of your plant.

Fungus gnats are another pest which can be a houseplant plague, you'll notice the small adult flies which lay their eggs in your soil, and these are what can harm your house plants. 

My personal arch enemy is the mealy bug. These will colonise your houseplant collection with devastating results. Mealy bugs are small, white and fluffy looking, they sound cute really but they're the embodiment of evil.

However to my amazement they have never touched any of my echeveria house plants, yet, but this may be due to having very rich pickings elsewhere. 

All of these pests can be treated with a variety of things however I wouldn't recommend any of these to use on your echeveria. Using pesticides or harsh chemicals will harm your echeveria’s beautiful farina.

I would suggest removing any pests with a harsh blast of water directed away from the soil to dislodge any creepy crawlies and keeping a close watch on them in the future.

If this still doesn't help, using insecticidal soap and neem oil mixtures should help control the problem, but this will potentially harm your echeveria’s natural and beautiful waxy coating.

Root Rot

Echeveria can't handle too much water and a sure sign that your plant has root rot will be a mushy and black stem travelling upwards. 

Fungal Problems

Fungal problems in your echeveria can manifest on all parts of the plant and the most probable cause is high humidity. Most house plants thrive in high humidity conditions but echeverias aren't one of them, they need the air to be dry.

Too much moisture in the air will mean that your succulents can't regulate their water intake normally.

Lack of Light Effects 

If your plant has insufficient light levels it will grow leggy and deformed, most likely with smaller leaves and lose its compact form. Your plant is searching for light and using all its energy to do so. 

The good news is that a lot of these problems can be rectified and this involves a good old-fashioned beheading. Technically speaking this could also be a form of propagation which may seem drastic but it's a perfectly safe and common way to help your plant 

If your echeveria has become leggy due to lack of light, chopping off the top part of the plant making sure to keep a good length of stem to bury in new soil should root well, and the stump should also regrow too, now make sure they're positioned in a brighter home.

As for root rot or fungal infections, rooting any part of your echeveria that is healthy can still work as long as you keep your cutting equipment clean and providing there is enough healthy plant to use.

You will need reliable pruning shears for your echeveria so be sure to check our product reviews and buying guide for the best secateurs available online. 

Protecting Farina

Let's take a moment to talk about that waxy coating known as farina and why it's important to protect it. This special coating is how your echeveria has evolved to be the tough plant it is today, the farina protects the plant from pathogens, harsh sun, insects and even our grubby hands! 

Yes, as much as you want to touch your gorgeously glaucous echeveria, our skin has oils that can damage its farina and break it down. If your plant loses too much of its protective farina it will lose its pastel colouring and open itself up to dangers that it may otherwise be able to easily tolerate.

Once your plant has lost its farina coating it's unlikely that it will re-coat itself, but don't worry this doesn't mean that your plant will die.

The farina is hydrophobic so repels water, you'll need to be vigilant to not overwater and not get any of the leaves wet as any sitting water will cause rot and fungal problems.

Echeveria Frequently Asked Questions

Do echeveria die after flowering?

Echeveria are not monocarpic plants. People think that they are monocarpic (meaning they will die after flowering) but this isn't the case, in fact, many varieties of echeveria will flower several times in a single year.

Is echeveria hard to grow?

Echeveria are one of the easiest houseplants to grow, and have almost no high maintenance requirements. They can be slightly needy when it comes to finding the right light levels for them, but they respond to changing light quickly so you can experiment with them until you find the right place.

How fast does echeveria grow?

Echeveria can grow incredibly quickly in the right conditions, expanding by up to 8 inches in a single year, but most cultivars sold in garden centres or online are slower growing, so don’t need repotting quite as regularly. 

Are echeveria indoor or outdoor?

They are well suited for either outdoor or indoor growing in most climates making it perfect as an indoor plant, but they do not tolerate frost or prolonged cold and damp temperatures, so should always be brought indoors over winter.

In warm dry climates with mild winters, they can do well in gravel gardens as long as the drainage is good and they’re in full sun over winter.

Are you a big fan of succulents? If you are, you will love our list of the best succulents to grow in Australia.