photo by Miisabo Succulent
Echeveria ‘Raindrops’ is a small succulent in the form of a rosette. Its leaves are rounded and green.
The rosettes can measure up to 15 cm in diameter. Its leaves have a reddish margin and a blue-green bump in each leaf. It’s a beautiful succulent to have.
If you’re a beginner, I recommend this plant.
Echeveria ‘Raindrops’ Care:
Watering:
The Echeveria ‘raindrops’ tolerates abundant outdoor watering.
But if the succulent is in pots, you have to be careful with excesses to avoid possible rotting.
You should only water the substrate, never the leaves, since this causes the leaves to overhydrate and wrinkle and fall.
Avoid wetting the leaves. Never spray water on the plant.
One technique to consider, as the plant is very compact and quickly occupies the pot, is irrigation by immersion.
Leave the pot for a few minutes in water immersion, so that the soil absorbs the necessary moisture.
Don’t forget to water the plant when the substrate is completely dry.
Substrate:
The substrate for good growth could be a mixture of 1/3 sand and 2/3 leaf mulch.
Echeveria Elegans can thrive in poor soils.
But the easiest way is a substrate for succulents.
Transplant:
Like all plants, I recommend you transplant periodically, in spring, if the roots have taken up all the available pot space.
Use a specific compost for cacti, to which you will add river sand or perlite, in the one-to-one ratio, since they make the substrate more porous, facilitating the drainage of irrigation water.
The drain hole should not be blocked.
Use terracotta and non-plastic pots since terracotta allows the soil to transpire and, therefore, reduce soil moisture.
The pots should be wide, as the roots grow more width than depth.
Fertilizer:
Succulents can obtain nutrients from their soil as long as it is adequate.
Although they do not need additive nutrition to survive, fertilizing echeverias could help them grow better. You can do it once a year.
In general, spring is the best season to fertilize echeverias. They tend to grow faster and flower in that season.
Apply a fertilizer like these specials for succulents to the soil in early spring.
Be aware that overfertilization can be harmful and can burn the plant roots, so strictly follow the directions on the label.
Temperature:
It tolerates cultivation better at high temperatures than at low temperatures. Its optimal range is from 15°C/59°F-30°C/86°F.
Temperatures below 10°C/50°F rot roots and stems.
Plagues and diseases:
It is frequently attacked by mealybugs, aphids, and mollusks (snails and slugs).
Mealybugs and aphids must be removed manually or with specific products; they are pests capable of drying leaves and flowers.
Mollusks cause more serious damage because they feed on the entire plant; use industrial pellets to control.
Propagation:
Propagate by seeds:
First, you will fill a nursery (pot, nursery tray, a milk container, … or whatever suits you best as long as it has holes in the bottom or can make holes in it) with universal culture substrate mixed with equal parts perlite.
Then water consciously and place the seeds on the surface.
Next, we cover them with a thin layer of substrate and water again, this time with a sprayer.
Later, you will place the seedbed in a bright place, but make sure it does not receive direct sunlight.
If all goes well, it will germinate in 2-3 weeks.
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Stolons/stems are like young children. When they are easy to handle, we will cut them and plant them in individual pots. In about ten days, they will take root.
Leaf cuttings
Cut a healthy leaf and lay them in pots with fertilizer. If you want, you can cover them a bit at the end where the roots will come out.
After about 7 or 10 days, they will grow roots.
Transplant:
The Echeveria ‘raindrops’ are transplanted every two years.
Pruning:
It does not require pruning; just remove any damaged or dry leaves.