Cultivating Echeveria hybrids in the Australian home.

These connoisseur Echeveria hybrids are drought tolerant, so they can stand being neglected while you are on holiday, etc. and will easily revive with a small amount of care and attention, after months of neglect. They are generally pest-free, and easy-care. We choose to grow ours in subtropical conditions, and they have been successfully grown by others as low as 44' South, which is lower than Tasmania's latitude. There are not too many plants about, that are as hardy as these! By trial and error methods, we have found out how much these plants will tolerate, and how far you can 'push' them. We explain all of these things in our cultivation notes that each order sent by us contains.
Here is a basic outline:

Light:Prefer half-day-sun (morning sun better) and bright light for the remainder of the day in the subtropics, with more sun the further south and cooler you get. All day winter sun is fine in all areas.

Water: Loves plenty of water in summer, but the soil must be well drained. They're highly adaptable, growing in all Australian climate zones, but in areas of frequent frosts or very cold winter areas, stop the watering altogether when the temperatures begin to cool off. Resume watering them in spring. We also give extra information on this, in our culturing notes. A small percentage of Echeveria species and hybrids, however, do not enjoy long periods of rain falling on directly onto leaves, so we recommend asking the person who sold you the plant, for more information.

Cold tolerance: Some Echeverias will tolerate an air-temperature of -7°C, but heavy frost directly on the leaves may burn or disfigure them. Most will tolerate some frost, and our growing notes tells you more about this. Climates colder than the sub-tropical one we are based in, brings about intensity of colours, as shown in this image of Echeveria Violescens, submitted by a keen grower, using plants purchased from our nursery.

Above: Echeveria Violescens
This photo submitted by D.V. of North Dakota :

Container growing: We recommend growing them in containers for stunning displays, and they are an ideal plant to be grown this way. It also makes them easy to take with you if you move, and convenient to move around the garden if you are expecting heavy winter frosts, or severe thunderstorms etc. Soil mixes for containers: Any premium mix with a red ticks standards mark on the pack will be fine. This Australian Standards mark ensures that you receive a free-draining, enriched mix that will retain water as it contains water crystals, as well as fertilizer. This mix is all your plants require, there is no need to add anything to it. The 'red ticks' look like this on the side of the bag:

Propagation: We recommend that when the hybrid Echeverias are actively growing, you can behead them, which will bring on offsets, growing from the stem that is left in the pot. Always dust the cut end with a dry fungicide powder to prevent bacteria growing on the cut surface and rotting the stem from the top, downwards. When the offsets are large enough, cut them off close to the base to give a small length of stem, and let it dry out in dry shade for 5-7 days before planting it into a seedling mix. Some of the smaller hybrids (eg. 'Apricot Glow' ) will grow from a leaf left on top of the soil in bright shade. Some larger and smaller hybrids will also grow from leaves carefully removed from young flower stems, left in bright shade too..

We grow a very large number of different plant species around our living space and nursery, and the Echeverias would have to be among the most easy-care, decorative plants, we have growing in of our garden beds.

Myths about growing Echeverias that should be 'laid to rest':
1. Echeverias hybrids are shallow-rooted.
We have 20 cm. deep pots, with Echeveria roots growing to the bottom of the pot. Enough said.
2. You need stones or similar in the bottom of pots for good drainage:
Grandma's ideas just won't die will they? Modern potting mixes have excellent drainage, unlike the ordinary garden soil mixes that were put into pots in Grandma's days. If your plant pot has trouble draining, raise the pot off the ground, not the soil in the pot.
3. Don't water them in summer months if it's humid.
Summer is the main period of active growth for Echeverias, so why stunt their growth witholding water? Put them in a better position, a position with ample breeze, if they don't look 'happy'. Like rose-bushs, they do not do well in stuffy, still conditions.
Don't hold off with the water unless you want to put them into green dormancy.

We know our plants, and differ on various points with many who claim to be"experts" from way back. Our selection of suitable hybrids that grow in open ground are testiment to this water myth being wrong, every time it rains.....

A Note for Production Nurseries and Collectors:

Beside finding the optimum conditions for the growing of Echeveria hybrids, we have also developed a new method of rapid propagation, that can fast track stock numbers of the many Echeveria hybrids. This method offers you a huge commercial advantage over other growers.

Don't waste time struggling,
trying to propagate large numbers of plants by slower methods,
or trying to tissue culture those varieties that won't lend themselves to it.
Our methods work.Fast.

CLICK HERE for more details.