Echeveria ‘Imbricata’: A Guide to Care and Cultivation of this Beautiful Glaucous Stunner

Echeveria 'imbricata'

Echeveria ‘Imbricata’ is a beautiful succulent plant that belongs to the Crassulaceae family. Native to Mexico, this rosette-forming plant has powdery blue-green leaves that are symmetrically arranged and overlap one another, giving the plant its common name, “Blue Rose Echeveria”.

Cultivation

Echeveria ‘Imbricata’ is a low-maintenance plant that is perfect for any gardener, whether you’re a seasoned pro or just starting out. Here are some tips for successfully growing and cultivating Echeveria ‘Imbricata’:

Light and Temperature

Echeveria ‘Imbricata’ prefers bright light to full sun, with some protection from the hottest afternoon sun.

Learn more about the light needs of succulents like Echeveria ‘Imbricata’ here:  How Much Light Do Succulents Need?

Soil and Potting

When planting in a pot, use a well-draining potting mix and a container with drainage holes. Avoid over-watering Echeveria ‘Imbricata’, which can lead to root rot, and under-watering, which can cause the leaves to wrinkle.

Soil is an integral part of making sure your succulents like Echeveria ‘Imbricata’ are healthy and happy. Read more here: The Best Potting Soil for Succulents: A Guide to Choosing the Right Mix

Watering and Fertilizing

Echeveria ‘Imbricata’ is drought-tolerant, which means that it needs infrequent watering. Feed sparingly with a balanced cactus or succulent fertilizer during the growing season.

Propagation

Propagation of Echeveria ‘Imbricata’ is most easily achieved by removing and rooting offsets as they appear at the base of the plant. It also can propagate via leaves and stem cuttings. 

Learn how to propagate your Echeveria ‘Imbricata’ and more here:  Propagating Succulents 4 Ways: The Best Guide Ever

Pests and Diseases

Echeveria ‘Imbricata’ is relatively disease and pest-free. Root rot is the most common problem when planted in poorly drained soils. In general, this plant should be kept dry and free of excess moisture to avoid fungal and bacterial infections.

Uses

Echeveria ‘Imbricata’ is commonly grown as a garden ornamental, in rock gardens, succulent gardens, or in container gardens. Its powdery blue-green leaves and symmetrical rosette form make it a great accent plant or a colorful and unique ground cover. Additionally, Echeveria ‘Imbricata’ is popular among succulent collectors because of its unique leaf patterns and vibrant color.

Conclusion

Echeveria ‘Imbricata’ is a beautiful, low-maintenance succulent that can add interest and color to any garden or indoor collection. With proper care and cultivation, it can be a long-lived and easy-to-grow addition to your collection. Remember to keep it dry and in a warm place, it can well grow in a drought-tolerant condition.

Echeveria 'imbricata'

Growing Season:
Summer

Dormant Season:
Winter

About Echeveria 'Imbricata'

Echeveria ‘Imbricata’ is one of the oldest succulent hybrids having been created in 1874. Its parentage is thought to be E. secunda ‘Glauca’ x E. gibbiflora ‘Metallica’.

Another nickname for Echeveria ‘Imbricata’ is “Blue Rose” for obvious reasons. It is one of my very favorite succulents to collect. When stressed, its tips turn a beautiful blush pink color. Don’t you wish we got prettier when under stress?!

Echeveria 'imbricata'
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General Guide to Echeveria Care

These beauties are one of the most popular succulents for beginners and experienced gardeners alike. There are hundreds of echeveria species, hybrids and cultivars which makes them a fun succulent to collect. Their origin is mostly from Mexico and the rest from Central America, South America and the United States.

Indoor echeveria kept as houseplants generally won’t need watering as frequently as the ones kept outdoors. Water them once the soil dries out AND they show signs of thirst. In the winter, they can go longer in between waterings when they are dormant.

When caring for echeveria indoors, be sure to give them lots and lots of light- natural or supplemented by grow lights. Most echeverias aren’t the best succulent to grow indoors as house plants because they need so much sun to keep your echeveria from growing tall. They become weaker and unhealthy when they start to lose their compact rosette shape. 

In addition to lots of light, be sure to provide your indoor echeveria with lots of ventilation. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to set a fan up near them to keep air flowing all the time. Stagnant air is the perfect environment for harmful bacteria and fungus which can lead to rot.

Never let the soil remain waterlogged by using a very porous, gritty, well draining soil in a pot with a drainage hole. Amend your soil with at least 50% inorganic amendment. Echeveria are sensitive to root rot when over watered. See the Guide to Soil for Succulents for more information about the different amendments that people use for succulents and where you can buy them. Echeveria can tolerate long periods without water as it is stored in their fleshy leaves and stem.

Water echeveria varieties a little more during their active summer growing season between March and September approximately. Be sure to let the soil dry out between waterings. Water sparingly in the winter when they are dormant. They will not be able to take in as much water through their roots when they are in a dormant state. In their natural habitat, they have long periods of drought between heavy rain events so try to mimic this when you are watering. 

Always avoid getting the leaves wet especially in humid areas to keep water from remaining trapped between the leaves. This will lead to rot. Bottom watering works well in the case of potted echeveria. It takes a LOT longer to kill an echeveria from dehydration than overwatering, so always err on the side of underwatering.  

The more light your echeveria gets, the more brilliant its colors will become. During the cooler months, their colors really get dramatic because you’ll be watering them less as well. 

 Bending leaves and stretching stems indicate low light levels. This is also known as etiolation. Bending and stretching are their way of trying to reach for more light by increasing their surface area. To fix this, gradually increase the amount of light over a few days to a week to avoid sunburn. Putting an echeveria in full sunlight abruptly will cause irreversible sun damage. 

If the etiolation is severe, you will need to behead your echeveria, let the cut end callus and replant it in dry succulent soil. Give it the proper amount of light to avoid etiolation again. From there, you can propagate the lower leaves and babies will form on the remaining stem.

Propagation of your echeveria can happen by leaf, seeds and stem cuttings. Be sure that the leaves make a clean break from the stem node if propagating leaves. A mature echeveria will have more propagation success than a young one.

Generally, no. Echeveria are not monocarpic like sempervivum, aeonium and agave. They will bloom yearly in the spring and summer with long arching flower stalks that have several flowers at the ends. Their small, brightly colored flowers will last for a few weeks and will attract hummingbirds and other pollinators to your outdoor succulent garden. The energy needed to create a flower stalk can be taxing on your echeveria, so you may notice the leaves starting to look a little shabby. This is normal and once the flower stalks are removed, your echeveria will begin to perk up again. I actually cut the bloom stalks off right before they flower because I prefer the energy to go to making new leaves rather than flowers. I also find that the leaves on bloom stalks are more likely to propagate successfully so I remove those as well. See my Guide to Propagating Leaves for my step-by-step leaf propagation process. 

I did mention that they GENERALLY don’t die after flowering. On occasion, echeveria will throw out a terminal inflorescence (flower stalk) from the very very center of the plant. When this happens, the echeveria will die after flowering. In my experience, the echeveria varieties that have given me terminal blooms are Echeveria ‘Afterglow’ and E. ‘Blue Sky.’

Fertilize echeveria only during their summer growing period with a fertilizer low in nitrogen, balanced NPK numbers and diluted to at least half strength of what is recommended on the label.

Echeveria are prone to mealy bugs. At the first sight of mealy bugs, pick them off with a small paintbrush dipped in isopropyl alcohol and treat the soil with a systemic insecticide. Quarantine any affected plants so the mealy bugs don’t spread. Most echeveria problems, however, are because of too much water and not enough light.

Echeveria are rose shaped plants and can send out offsets horizontally from their stems via stolons. When planted in the ground, echeveria can form wide mounds around the mother plant. 

There are many echeveria types and their thick foliage ranges from powdery, fuzzy, smooth edges, wrinkled edges to bumpy surfaces.

Echeveria can withstand temperatures down to about 20°F (USDA Zones 9-10) outdoors. They can handle a very light frost, but definitely can’t handle consistently freezing temperatures. 

The name Echeveria comes from the Mexican botanical artist Atanasio Echeverria y Godoy by the French botanist Augustin Pyramus deCandolle. Echeverria y Godoy produced thousands of botanical illustrations while exploring Mexico and Central America. 

(Source: https://www.smgrowers.com/)

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Learn how to propagate succulents and share them with your friends
Learn how to propagate succulents and share them with your friends

Where to Buy Succulents Online

I receive a small commission when you purchase anything through my links. 

Leaf and Clay

Fairyblooms

Succulents Box

Etsy

Rojas Succulents

Collecting succulents is not an addiction. It's a healthy interest

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