Echeveria chroma is a beautiful hybrid succulent. It is common in succulent gardens and hanging baskets because it exhibits season variegation.
This unique succulent is easy to grow and care for. Read this article to learn everything you need to know about Echeveria chroma.
What Is Echeveria Chroma?
Echeveria chroma is a hybrid succulent created in California from Mexican succulents. This succulent grows in clumps and may later form a shrub-like appearance. The hybrid succulent is a beautiful addition to your succulent garden as it switches colors according to the season; however, iit is also suitable as a potted plant. Furthermore, you can grow Echeveria chroma in hanging baskets as a houseplant with ease.
– Identifying
You will recognize Echeveria chroma hybrid plants when you see them. Some features to watch out for are:
- Plant appearance: Echeveria chroma plants form rosettes that branch to form a plant with many branches (like a mini shrub). The rosettes are usually 4 inches in diameter and about five inches tall.
- Leaves: The leaves of Echeveria chroma are like chameleons as they express seasonal variegation. According to the season, they can be pink, apricot, gold, red-rose, or near white.
- Flowers: The beautiful flowers of Echeveria chroma are yellow inside while the outer part is pinkish-red. They have yellow tips.
The beauty of Echeveria chroma makes the plant a must-have in succulent gardens. How do you grow and care for your Echeveria chroma? Continue reading.
Echeveria Chroma Care
Most succulents are easy to grow so long as you pay close attention to their needs (especially their water needs). Growing an Echeveria chroma succulent is similar to caring for other succulents.
This means that if you already have a succulent garden or you have successfully planted and cared for succulents before, you can easily grow Echeveria chroma.
– Getting Your Echeveria Chroma
You can start your Echeveria chroma by planting its seeds, but the easiest way to start the plant is through its cuttings. You can easily get Echeveria chroma cuttings from other succulent hobbyists. If no cutting is available, you can purchase Echeveria chroma seeds, seedlings, or offsets from garden shops and online shops.
Make sure that a suitable potting mix or soil for cacti or succulents is ready for your Echeveria chroma. When you bring the plant or cutting home, remove it from the pot and carefully dust away dirt or soil from the roots. Allow the plant to callus for two days before planting it in the suitable soil or potting mix.
– Suitable Soil and Potting Mix
Echeveria chroma does not need any special substrate to grow. If you have succulents growing in your garden, that soil or potting mix is suitable for Echeveria chroma. You can buy a cactus or succulent mix from garden shops for your Echeveria chroma. You can also mix two-part perlite, sand, or rocks with one-part compost or topsoil.
Make sure that the substrate for your Echeveria chroma drains water quickly and does not retain water. The roots of your plants should be well-aerated in the Echeveria chroma soil.
If you are growing your Echeveria chroma in a pot, place some rocks on the bottom of the pot before adding the potting mix. This will help prevent the potting mix from retaining too much water.
– Light
Echeveria chroma needs as much light as it can get. The plant needs a minimum of six hours of direct sunlight daily. If you provide your Echeveria chroma with bright light, the colors of its leaves will become brighter.
Make sure that your succulent garden receives enough light. For indoor plants, place them on windows facing the southern as these parts receive the brightest light in the day. If your plants do not receive enough light, they will develop weak stems and will become susceptible to a lot of diseases.
– Temperature
Echeveria chroma grows best in USDA hardiness zone 9b – 12b. This means that your plants need 25 – 60 F (-3.9 – 15.6 C). The temperature needed for Echeveria chroma is not different from other succulents, especially those that are not cold-hardy.
In winter, take your plants indoors and place them on a sunny windowsill or under grow lights.
– Water Requirements
As a tip, you should not water your Echeveria chroma if you are not sure that you should. Only water your Echeveria chroma when you are sure that the soil or potting mix is dry. To know if your Echeveria chroma needs watering or not, dip a finger into the potting mix. If you can feel moisture, do not water the plant yet. You can also use a digital moisture reader.
To water your Echeveria chroma, soak the potting mix or soil with water and allow the water to drain out. If the water does not drain quickly, the potting mix is not suitable for Echeveria chroma. You can also water your Echeveria chroma by misting, but this is only recommended in Autumn or early spring.
You do not need to water your Echeveria chroma in winter.
– Nutrient
You should fertilize your Echeveria chroma twice a month in the growing season (mid-spring to early autumn). You can use a slow-release fertilizer in granular form for your plants. If you notice discoloration in the leaves or other forms of nutrient deficiency, you should mist liquid fertilizer on the leaves of your Echeveria chroma.
Buy a cactus or succulent mix for your plants. Many gardening shops have fertilizer formulated for the “Echeveria” genus, so you should use that if it is available.
Now you know the various requirements of Echeveria chroma. If you want more Echeveria chroma plants, you’ll have to propagate yours and you don’t need to buy them. How do you propagate Echeveria chroma? Continue reading.
Propagation
Do you have to buy more Echeveria chroma if you already have some in your garden? The answer is No. With one matured Echeveria chroma plant, you can get as many as you want through propagation. How do you propagate your plant? Here are some methods:
– Matured Leaves
One incredibly easy method of propagating your Echeveria chroma is through the leaves. Look for a matured leaf and pluck it out. Keep the leaf on a surface where it can get direct sunlight for two or three days. In this period, the leaf will callus and young plants will start growing from the leaf.
When the leaf is dry, place it attached to the growing plants on a suitable potting mix or soil. If you have more Echeveria chroma plants than you need in that pot, you can cut them (attached to a little section of the leaf) and plant them in new pots.
Water the young plants by misting them until they are two months old. When mature enough, you can start watering the plants by soaking them.
– Offset or Branched Rosette
You can grow Echeveria chroma from offsets or branches. Collect as many offsets as you need and plant them somewhere else. Before planting the offsets, it is good practice to allow them to callus for some days. During this period, you should notice that some roots have started to develop.
Plant the offset in your preferred location or container and water them by misting them until they are matured enough to be soaked.
– Seeds and Seedlings
After flowering, Echeveria chroma plants produce seeds. You can plant the Echeveria chroma seeds for new plants to germinate. Note that not every seed will germinate as the plant has a relatively low rate of germination. This means that you should plant more seeds than you need.
When the seedlings have germinated, you can water them by misting them. After three weeks, you can remove the ones that you do not want (i.e. if more than you need germinated). The potting mix should have rich organic matter.
Whether you propagated your Echeveria chroma by seeds, leaf, or offset, remember to use nutrient-rich topsoil so that the young plants can grow healthily.
Problems
As you’d agree, it is easy to grow, care for, and propagate Echeveria Chroma. Well, this does not mean that you will not encounter any problems when growing the plants.
Some problems that you should watch out for are:
– Weak Stem
Light deficiency can cause weak stems in Echeveria chroma. You should place your plants in a location where they can get at least six hours of direct sunlight. Also, make sure that you are not giving them too much water as it can also cause weak stems.
– Pests
Echeveria chroma plants are susceptible to pest attacks. Pests that can attack your plants are mealybugs, caterpillars, grasshoppers, etc. You should prevent pests by reaching your Echeveria chroma plants.
You can use pesticides often or grow your plants indoors. You can treat the wounds caused by pests with sulfur.
– Rot
Root rot in Echeveria chroma is caused by overwatering your plants. This special succulent needs just a little water, so you should not water them frequently. If your plants have root rot, you should repot them.
When repotting the plant, use a new potting mix (or make sure that the previous one is not too old) and prune off any dead roots that you can find.
FAQ
Why is Echeveria Chroma called a chameleon succulent?
Echeveria Chroma is referred to as a chameleon succulent due to its ability to change colors, resembling the adaptive nature of chameleons.
How often does Echeveria Chroma bloom?
Echeveria Chroma typically blooms once a year, usually during the spring or summer seasons.
Is Echeveria Chroma summer or winter dormant?
Echeveria Chroma is typically summer dormant, meaning it tends to slow down its growth and require less water during the summer months.
Conclusion
Echeveria chroma is easy to grow and care for, isn’t it? Remember the requirements and care tips of Echeveria chroma with the following points:
- Echeveria chroma changes leaf color according to the season. To give your plants brighter colors, grow them under bright light.
- The suitable substrate to grow Echeveria chroma is a cactus or succulent mix. Any substrate that drains water quickly and does not retain so much moisture is fine.
- Only fertilize your plants in the growing season (mid-spring to early autumn). Use slow-release fertilizer.
- Only water your Echeveria chroma when the substrate is dry. Use your finger or a moisture reader to tell if the substrate is dry or not.
- You can propagate Echeveria chroma through matured leaves, offsets, seeds, and stem cutting.
Echeveria chroma is a beautiful succulent and a nice addition to your garden. What are you waiting for to plant yours?
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