Echeveria LILACINA

Echeveria LILACINA - Ghost Echeveria, Lilacina Echeveria.

Echeveria is a large genus in the Crassulaceae family, numbering about 150 species of succulent plants originating from arid mountainous regions of Mexico, Central, and South America.

Echeverias are evergreen rosette succulents without a true stem or with a short fleshy trunk. The leaves are succulent, dense, of diverse shapes (from rounded to spatulate), arranged spirally and gathered in a dense basal rosette with a diameter from 3 to 40 cm (1.2 to 16 in) depending on the species. The leaf surface is often covered with a waxy coating (farina), giving the plant a matte whitish, glaucous, or silvery sheen and protecting it from intense ultraviolet radiation and moisture loss. Leaf coloration varies from light green to grey-blue, lilac, pink, burgundy, and nearly black; under bright light and temperature fluctuations, leaf margins often take on a contrasting red or pink hue.

The inflorescence is a single- or multi-flowered cincinnal cyme on an arched peduncle arising from the leaf axils. The flowers are bell-shaped, five-petaled, fleshy, yellow, orange, coral, pink, or red in color, often bicolored (yellow inside and reddish outside). Flowering lasts from several weeks to two months, usually in spring or summer.

Echeveria LILACINA has greyish-pinkish leaves with a wonderful waxy coating that gives them a silvery-white hue. It forms a compact, regularly symmetrical rosette that expands slowly. Peduncles bear delicate coral-pink flowers.

Echeveria seeds are small, brownish-yellow, dust-like, enclosed in small follicles. In view of the dust-like size of the seeds, washing and soaking are not advisable - prior to sowing, the substrate itself is disinfected: it is drenched with a weak potassium permanganate solution and dried. Additionally, after sowing, the substrate can be misted with a solution of growth stimulant (SUPERthrive, HB-101, Aminozol, Epin, or Zircon). Scarification and stratification are not required. Seeds of cultivated varieties do not replicate the parent form exactly - the seed method is primarily used in hybridization.

Sowing is performed in a soilless, loose substrate for succulents (peat-based soil is diluted by 50% with coarse river or quartz sand) or a mix of perlite with fine sand. The seeds are dust-like, so they are mixed with a pinch of fine sand for even distribution and spread over the surface without burying - the seeds require light for germination. The substrate is moistened from below through the saucer or carefully from a spray bottle. Sowings are covered with film or placed in a propagator and kept at a temperature of 18-20 °C (64-68 °F) in bright indirect light. Temperatures above 21 °C (70 °F) reduce germination. The substrate is kept constantly moist, though waterlogging is unacceptable. Daily ventilation is mandatory - seedlings are prone to fungal diseases.

Seedlings appear in 14-21 days, with a minimum period of about 10 days under optimal conditions, and a maximum possible duration of up to 3 months. After germination, the cover is removed gradually over 1-2 weeks. The substrate is maintained slightly moist - seedlings require more moisture than mature plants. Pricking out is carried out after the formation of 3-4 true leaves, at 6-8 weeks after germination, into individual small pots with cactus substrate while preserving the root ball.

© Greeniverse. All rights reserved.

Echeveria is grown in the brightest possible light - full sun or very bright indirect light. Optimal placement is a south or south-east window; eastern and western exposures are acceptable. With insufficient light, the rosette stretches, leaves become sparse, and the farina turns pale. On a hot summer midday behind glass, sunburn is possible - shade during hours of most intense sun if necessary. Water is not poured into the center of the rosette; stagnant moisture causes heart rot.

Optimal temperature during active growth is 18-27 °C (64-81 °F). In winter, a slight drop to 10-15 °C (50-59 °F) is permissible, which promotes the formation of a compact rosette and stimulates flowering - a cool maintenance period with day-night temperature swings is required for bud initiation. Adult plants tolerate brief drops down to -2 to -3 °C (27-28 °F), but prolonged frost is fatal. It does not tolerate prolonged sub-freezing temperatures.

Watering is done via the 'soak and dry' method: the substrate dries out completely between waterings - the top 2-3 cm (0.8-1.2 in) must be completely dry. Water is soft, settled, at room temperature. After watering, excess water is drained from the saucer - stagnant moisture around roots leads to rotting. Species with pubescent leaves are watered through the saucer so water does not get onto leaf surfaces. In winter, watering is reduced to 1-2 times a month, only to prevent leaf shriveling. Air humidity plays no significant role - the plant is adapted to dry air. Leaves are not wetted by misting - this spoils the farina and triggers spots.

The substrate used is very loose and well-drained: ready-made cactus mix with added perlite or coarse sand (50-70% mineral components). The pot must have drainage holes, shallow, slightly larger than the rosette diameter - echeverias prefer somewhat cramped containers. The drainage layer at the bottom accounts for at least 1/3 of the pot volume. Repotting is carried out once every 1-2 years in spring; during repotting, lower dead leaves are removed. Feeding is applied once a month during active growth (spring-summer) with half-strength low-nitrogen cactus and succulent fertilizer. They are not fed in autumn and winter. Routine pruning is not required; spent peduncles are removed at the base.

Vegetative propagation: leaf cuttings are removed with a clean twisting motion without tearing at the base, dried for 2-3 days until a callus forms, and laid onto the surface of a moist substrate without burying. Daughter offset rosettes are separated from the mother plant with a sharp sterile knife, dried for 1-2 days, and planted into individual small pots.