Echeveria ‘Lola’ is a beautiful and low-maintenance cultivar of the Echeveria genus, known for its rosette-forming succulent leaves and bright pink or orange flowers. Bred by the famed Echeveria hybridizer Dick Wright in Fallbrook, California, ‘Lola’ is the result of the cross between Echeveria ‘Tippy’ and E. lilacina. It has a thick layer of farina, a fine, white powder that gives the plant a pearlescent marble-like appearance with rosy undertones.
If you’re looking for a striking and easy-to-care-for plant for your garden or indoor space, Echeveria ‘Lola’ is definitely worth considering. In this article, we’ll cover all the essential information you need to know about ‘Lola’, including its appearance, care requirements, and propagation methods.
Description of Echeveria ‘Lola’
Echeveria ‘Lola’ is a small to medium-sized plant that grows to be 3-5 inches tall, with a rosette size of 5-6 inches. Its plump, teardrop-shaped leaves are a bluish-gray color and are covered in a thick layer of farina. In the summer months, ‘Lola’ produces tall stalks of pink or orange flowers that add a pop of color to the plant.
Care Instructions for Echeveria ‘Lola’
Echeveria ‘Lola’ is relatively easy to care for and is well-suited for growing in a variety of settings. Here are a few tips to keep ‘Lola’ happy and healthy:
Light: Echeveria ‘Lola’ needs bright, indirect light to maintain its compact rosette form and vibrant color. It can tolerate some direct sun, but it’s best to avoid exposing it to intense midday sun to prevent the leaves from getting sunburnt.
Soil: It’s important to plant ‘Lola’ in well-draining soil to prevent rot. A cactus and succulent soil mix with 50% to 70% mineral grit (such as coarse sand, pumice, or perlite) is a good choice. Make sure to choose a pot with drainage holes to allow excess water to drain out.
Water: Echeveria ‘Lola’ is a succulent, so it doesn’t need a lot of water to thrive. Water the plant deeply, allowing the soil to dry out completely before watering again. Overwatering is the most common cause of problems with Echeveria plants, so be sure to let the soil dry out completely before watering again.
Temperature: Echeveria ‘Lola’ is hardy in USDA zones 9-11, but it can also be grown as a houseplant in other regions. If you live in an area with frost, it’s a good idea to bring ‘Lola’ indoors during the colder months to protect it.
Propagation of Echeveria ‘Lola’
Echeveria ‘Lola’ is easy to propagate and can be propagated through stem cuttings or mature leaves, or by separating offsets from the base of the mother plant. It is also known as “Mexican Hens & Chicks,” as it can produce new offsets or “chicks” around the base of the plant. These offsets can be left to form a cluster or transplanted.
If you’re interested in propagating ‘Lola’, here’s a quick overview of the process:
Stem Cuttings: To propagate ‘Lola’ through stem cuttings, simply cut a healthy stem from the plant and remove the lower leaves. Place the stem in a well-draining soil mix and keep it in a warm, bright location. Water the soil lightly and mist the leaves occasionally to keep them from drying out. Within a few weeks, you should see new roots forming. Once the cutting has rooted and established itself, you can transfer it to a larger pot or plant it in the ground.
Definitely check out: How to Water Succulents So They Don’t Die
Offsets: Echeveria ‘Lola’ will often produce offsets, or “chicks,” around the base of the mother plant. These offsets can be left to form a cluster or separated and transplanted into their own pots. To separate the offsets, gently lift the mother plant and carefully remove the offsets using a sharp knife or scissors. Plant the offsets in well-draining soil and water them lightly.
You might like: My Succulent Leaves Are Turning Yellow
Conclusion
Echeveria ‘Lola’ is a stunning and easy-to-care-for plant that is well-suited for a variety of settings. Its rosette-forming leaves and bright pink or orange flowers make it a standout choice for both outdoor gardens and indoor pots. With proper care and the occasional propagation, ‘Lola’ can thrive and bring a touch of beauty to your space for years to come.
Quick question: Should you mist succulents? Find that answer here.
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Growing Season:
Summer
Dormant Season:
Winter
- Hardy to USDA Zone: 10
- Size: Up to 6" wide
- Foliage: Pale green to white, Pink tips when stressed
- Flower: Pink
- Propagation: Stem cuttings, leaves, seed, offsets
- Light: Full sun, bright shade
- Water: Drench & Dry
- Soil: Gritty, mostly inorganic, quickly draining
- Origin: Mexico
About Echeveria 'Lola'
Echeveria ‘Lola’ is a hybrid of Echeveria ‘Tippy‘ x E. lilacina created by the famous hybridizer, Dick Wright, in 1980.
It is easily one of the most popular succulents and is super common at garden centers everywhere. Mature Echeveria ‘Lola’ plants produce lots of offsets below the lowest set of leaves. Its leave also propagate easily.
The rosettes of Echeveria ‘Lola’ take on a beautiful, almost iridescent color scheme of pastel greens and pinks. Super pretty.
Echeveria Care Indoors - Try to Mimic the Outdoors
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.
Best Soil for Echeveria
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.
How to Water Echeveria
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.
Echeveria Sunlight Needs
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.
How to Propagate Echeveria
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.
Do echeveria die after flowering?
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.’
Fertilizing Echeveria
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 Pests & Problems
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 Shape & Texture
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 Cold Hardiness
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.
Origin of the Name
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/)
