OK, in a moment of weakness I bought this one at the local grocery store. Lots of blooms and some pre-blooms. The container is about the size of the plants. Question - do they like to be crowded in the pot? Should it be transplanted? Amount of water?
Wow! Look at all those blooms! And where there are blooms....there are usually seeds!! Neat plant. I envy you. But I can't help with the pot size as mine are all in the gardens, never blooming! Good luck with it.
Okay I take care of those at the Huntington Gardens, first the good news, the pot should be about 4" round or square, plastic of clay, they like it cool. After if flowers it should put out a lot of babies all around and under the mothers skirt of dead leaves. This one may send out stolens instead.
The bad news the mother plant will die after it flowers. Message, never buy plants in flower unless you know it won't die afterwards. Aeonium, is another species that does this. Norma
Norma - Thanks!! Sounds like I should transplant to a wider pot because if it is going to send out babies, it will need space. Should I transplant now while it's flowering so it's undisturbed when it tries to send out babies.
You're probably right about the buying a flowering plant, but I think I've already gotten my money's worth of enjoyment with the flowers - has been a great conversation piece at the office. People walk by, stop, come in, ask questions. My office is starting to look like a mismash of everything from African Violets, Amaryllis, this, Hyacinths. People are always stopping by and commenting: "ohhhhh, something new"
I am confused about which ones die after flowering. Is it the ones like this that send up a flower stalk fron between the leaves or the ones that start pushing up the entire center of the plant and blooms at the top? And, after the later type die back, if they did noe set babies will anything grow from the roots or is it gone completely if you didn't have any luck with the seeds it set?
I think the mama dies and all the babies will hang around, eventually flower and start their own babies and then die after flowering,
I am starting mine from seed this year on a pile of rocks.
But it is so nice for them to come by, what a great way to make friends. Isn't it nice to get new things like little plants, it brings so much pleasure to so many. New York should be great place for this plant to raise a family. It loves the snow, just put bunch of leaves on top, mulch as you would a rose. Send me one of those baby's one day. Norma
Did the babies make it? This is beautiful!
I got one like that at Trader Joe's earlier this year. It was a mass of blooms. After a few weeks it was not looking very good and I picked up the pot to look it over. Foul smelling water poured out. There was no drainage! I moved it to another pot and it is looking healthy again. There is quite a lot of new growth but no sign of pups.
Echevieria do not die after flowering and some make an underskirt of babies. Some can actually fit into a 8" pot. The miniatures or small into a 4" pot. Don' do anything until after it flowers. Usually when it is ready it will send out roots from the side of the plant. What I do then is cut off the head leaving about 1" of stem to set into the soil, but I do not set it into the soil right away. I set them onto an empty pot untill the roots develope then pot up into nice fresh mix. Many Echeveria may be started from nice plump fresh leaves, laying face down on the soil. Or new growth from the top that look like flowers coming up, get it quick before it develops flowers.
Semps, almost the same, a Semp will die after it flowers, but then you should have babies to start. Some will start from a leaf, plant the remaining babies. Semps. fit nicely into a small 4" pot. and must be kept neat, no dead leaves under the hen.
Geprge, what I think your picuture shows is Echevieria 'Dondo' and it is a showy plant. Put it into a 4" pot and let it rest when it wants to. It can be divided, or started from leaves, or wait until it has babies, you have several options with it. I think it Myron Kimnach is responsible for that one. Its great it mass planting.
