Greetings, human gardener. We, the Echeveria collective, appreciate your desire to create a stunning arrangement that allows us to thrive together. From our perspective, a successful arrangement is not just about aesthetics for your eyes, but about creating a sustainable environment for our roots, leaves, and spirits. To achieve this, please consider our needs as follows.
First and foremost, our collective home—the pot—must have excellent drainage. We despise wet feet. Sitting in water causes our roots to rot, a slow and unpleasant demise. Please choose a pot with ample drainage holes. The soil is equally vital. We require a gritty, sharply draining mix. A standard cactus and succulent potting soil is a good start, but we truly flourish when you amend it with extra perlite, pumice, or coarse sand (about a 50/50 mix). This gritty environment allows oxygen to reach our roots and prevents water from pooling around them.
While we Echeverias are diverse in form and color, we all share similar needs for light, water, and soil. When you select companions for our arrangement, please choose other succulents who share our philosophy. Sedum, Graptopetalum, and some Sempervivum are excellent choices. Do not place us with tropical plants that crave constant moisture; their watering schedule will drown us. Consider our growth habits too. A rosette-shaped Echeveria like myself pairs well with trailing succulents like String of Pearls or Sedum morganianum, who can gracefully spill over the edges of the pot, creating a beautiful contrast.
We are sun worshippers. To maintain our vibrant colors and compact, stunning forms, we require abundant bright, indirect light. A south or east-facing window is ideal. Without enough light, we will become etiolated—stretching out and becoming pale in a desperate search for the sun, losing the very beauty you admire. When planting, give us room to breathe! While a tightly packed arrangement looks appealing initially, we need space for air circulation to prevent moisture-related diseases and room for our rosettes to grow to their full, glorious size.
Our relationship with water is one of deep patience. The "soak and dry" method is the only language we understand. Please water us thoroughly only when the soil is completely dry all the way through. Pour water slowly onto the soil until it runs freely from the drainage holes, then ensure we are never left sitting in the drained water. Most importantly, avoid getting water pooled in the center of our rosettes, as this can lead to rot. In winter, when we are dormant, we require even less water—sometimes only once a month or less.
