Thursday, November 20, 2014

My favorite plant this week: Echeveria cante

To avoid walking through the bare soil in the front yard, I've been passing through the north side yard when moving between the front and back gardens.  This takes me by two new Echeveria cante I picked up at the local botanic garden's fall plant sale.  In a semi-shade location along the gravel path that bi-sects the dry garden, their silvery blue-green foliage gleams.




I bought the one on the right during my first pass through the sale.  It's somewhat larger than the one on the left, which I went back for on the second day of the sale.  They should eventually grow to 1 foot (30.5 cm) tall and 1-2 feet wide.  According to on-line sources, they usually remain solitary rosettes, seldom forming pups.  They're generally propagated by seed.

Close-up of the larger Echeveria, surrounded by stones dug out of the garden to protect the plant from the resident raccoons

The second Echeveria was purchased to provide symmetry at the entry to the dry garden.  When the rosemary in the background is in bloom, the succulent nicely mirrors its ice blue flowers. 



The volunteer propagator at the sale warned me (twice) against planting these succulents in the sun.  San Marcos Growers recommends growing them in "cool sun," by which I assume they mean morning sun, or bright shade.  Mine get a touch of sun in the morning and spend the rest of the day in the shade provided by the house's shadow.

The smaller of the 2 Echeverias gets its brief moment in the sun



The blue-green leaves have a whitish coating that gives the plant a celadon color with a blush of lavender.  The plants also have a a pinkish-red edge along the leaf margins.




Like most succulents, the Echeverias have low water needs.  San Marcos Growers claims that the plants, which originate from Mexico, are hardy to at least 25F (minus 3.9C).

The colors of the ocean and the afternoon sky, with its vague promise of rain, nicely mirrored the plants' colors late this afternoon.  

Clouds over the Los Angeles harbor


However, the sunset some 45 minutes later, was distinctly pinker.  Although it's dark now, things are looking brighter - it just started to rain.

View looking east at the harbor just a few minutes after our 4:47pm sunset



All material © 2012-2014 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party

26 comments:

  1. That is a fabulous Echeveria. I love the pink edge.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I forgot to say that it has orange flowers in summer. Orange flowers and pink edge - your colors Alison!

      Delete
  2. Hey a plant we both have! Except yours are happy in the ground and mine is in a container in the basement wondering what happened to the sun.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I noticed that many of the on-line sources recommended growing it in a pot Loree. So far, mine seem happy enough in the ground but I'll move them to pots if they act up.

      Delete
  3. I nearly bought one last month, why of why did I not? Must rectify soon...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Gorgeous - love how the plant's edges gives us a foretaste of your pink skies later in the post. But what makes me really happy is RAIN! Hope you get a nice watering.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unfortunately, the rain didn't amount to much of anything. Mother Nature essentially just spit at us as she made a quick trip east. She needs a lesson in manners.

      Delete
  5. I dote on that Echeveria, but a bit touchy it is. Beautiful pink sky.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So far so good but it hasn't been quite a month yet. Propagation is clearly more difficult than with many succulents.

      Delete
  6. I love the colour Kris. Nice choice. I see I'm not the only one that goes back for a 2nd visit to buy a plant. I was telling myself to ask why the stone, but you saved me the bother.
    That pink sky is just gorgeous. We've been a dull grey for the last week or so!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sorry about your gray skies Angie. I hope next week is better!

      Delete
  7. Nice to see the red edges.
    Have a good weekend
    Mariana

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a stunning sky...and i love the colors of this plant...almost sunset colors. Very unusual.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The sunset was a nice surprise - I don't usually see that much color on the eastern horizon. It's a lucky thing I looked up from my computer in time to catch it.

      Delete
  9. What did you use to edge your gravel path? I'm looking for something to keep the grass out of a narrow gravel border.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bender board. We also use it to keep grass out of the garden beds (where we still have grass). It's not perfect but it's relatively cheap and easy to install.

      Delete
  10. I am definitely warming to succulents Kris, this Echeveria is lovely the pink edge gives it a real lift. But of course the view of the Bay is what steals the show in this post.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It took me a while to warm up to succulent too, Christina. Watch out - they can become addictive!

      Delete
  11. My first thought was that the new echeverias were like floral accoutrements on a dress. They certainly light up the garden. Who would have thought that they could grow so large. Your views from the house are gorgeous. I am glad you looked up from your computer so that we could see them too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Those Echeveria do provide a flourish, especially in the relative shade of that area. I'm still looking for the right groundcover to surround them.

      Delete
  12. That sunset is breathtaking! I love the color of your echeverias, as well as their shape. I really can't grow succulents in the ground here. Yours are beautiful, and I like how they complement the blue/greeny/grayish colors of other nearby plants.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The sunsets don't usually get that pink. It was a welcome surprise.

      Delete
  13. That sunset is so lovely. What a beautiful capture with your camera.

    ReplyDelete

I enjoy receiving your comments and suggestions! Google has turned on reCAPTCHA affecting some commentator IDs so, if you wish to identify yourself, please add your name to your comment.