Echeveria, Echeveria elegans: “Mexican Hens and Chicks”
It is fitting that one of the most brilliantly colored and strikingly beautiful kinds of succulents, those in the genus Echeveria, are named for an artist.
Atanasio Echeverria y Godoy was an intrepid 18th-century botanical artist who spent 17 years recording thousands of specimens while on expeditions in his home country Mexico, as well as in northern Central America and California.
There are nearly 200 species of Echeveria with more still being discovered by plant hunters.
Photograph by Michelle Slatalla.
Photograph by Matthew Williams for Gardenista.
One of the more common species Echeveria elegans is known as Mexican Hens and Chicks because it spreads through adorable mini offsets which form around a mature plant...
...known as a hen The new plants the chicks stay attached to the mother until they are able to sustain themselves or are removed and transplanted by a gardener
A Sempervivum Calcareum in a 4-inch pot is $6.95 from Succulent Charm via Etsy.
Echeveria ‘Hummel #2’ and a dyckia in Ruth Bancroft’s garden in Walnut Creek, California.
Photograph by Marion Brenner courtesy of Timber Press.
Cheat Sheet
If Echeverias get leggy, cut them off at the base; the stems will make a bouquet that can last a month or more without water.
Photograph by Michelle Slatalla.
Echeveria hybrid (E. agavoides x E. colorata) is cold-tolerant.For more, see Required Reading: Ruth Bancroft’s Bold Dry Garden. Given the proper conditions, Echeverias are generally quite easy to grow and problem free.
Keep It Alive
Photograph by Marion Brenner courtesy of Timber Press.
If Echeverias are grown indoors or in other high humidity conditions, they sometimes attract mealybugs. Finally, get more ideas on how to successfully plant, grow, and care for echeveria with our Echeveria: A Field Guide.
Photograph by Michelle Slatalla.