Echeveria AGAVOIDES, Ahualulco

Echeveria AGAVOIDES, Ahualulco - Molded wax agave, Echeveria agavoides.

Echeveria is a large genus in the stonecrop family (Crassulaceae), comprising about 150 species of succulent perennials distributed in semi-arid regions of Central America, Mexico, and northwestern South America - from Texas to Argentina. The center of species diversity is concentrated in Mexico. Most species inhabit rocky slopes, screes, dry gorges, and mountain plateaus with good drainage and intense sunlight.

Echeverias are evergreen rosette succulents without a true stem or with a short leafy stem. The leaves are fleshy, with a waxy or powdery coating (farina), ranging from rounded to lanceolate, often with a colored tip or margin. In many species, lateral offsets form over time, for which the plants received the common name 'hen and chicks'. The plants are polycarpic - they flower and bear fruit multiple times throughout their life.

The inflorescence is a single- or many-flowered cincinnus on an arched peduncle rising from the center or base of the rosette. The flowers are tubular, nodding, usually in shades of red, orange, or yellow, pollinated primarily by hummingbirds and insects. The fruits are small follicles; the seeds are small and numerous.

Molded wax agave is a succulent bush-like plant with a strongly shortened or altogether absent stem, on which dense rosettes of light green leaves with a red tint are formed. Triangular-oval leaves, 3-9 cm (1.2-3.5 in) long and 5-6 cm (2.0-2.4 in) wide, are covered with a waxy bloom, pointed at the tips and with translucent margins. In late spring to early summer, molded wax agave produces numerous red-and-yellow rounded-bell-shaped flowers up to 1.5 cm (0.6 in) long, gathered in terminal inflorescences 30-40 cm (11.8-15.7 in) tall, emerging from the very center of the rosettes.

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 impractical - before sowing, the substrate itself is disinfected: it is drenched with a weak solution of potassium permanganate and dried. Additionally, after sowing, the substrate can be sprayed with a solution of a growth stimulant (SUPERthrive, HB-101, Aminozol, Epin, or Zircon). Scarification and stratification are not required. Seeds of cultivar plants do not reproduce the mother form exactly - the seed method is used primarily in hybridization.

Sowing is carried out in a soilless loose substrate for succulents (peat-based soil is diluted by 50% with coarse river or quartz sand) or a mixture 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 - seeds need light to germinate. The substrate is moistened from below through the tray or carefully from a spray bottle. Sowings are covered with film or placed in a greenhouse and kept at a temperature of 18-20 °C (64-68 °F) in bright diffused light. Temperatures above 21 °C (70 °F) reduce germination. The substrate is kept constantly moist; waterlogging is unacceptable. Daily ventilation is mandatory - seedlings are prone to fungal diseases.