Echeveria’s Blue Curls Plant Care

Table of Contents

The Echeveria blue curls are a spectacular plant with frilly-edged silvery blue curls on the leaves. You must agree it looks magical and goes by the standard Echeveria species name hens and chicks. Today we will help you care for this fascinating evergreen perennial succulent.

Furthermore, those pastel colors with showy pink hues with vibrant pink edging are sure to become the centerpiece of the garden and home. So, without further ado, let’s get our hands dirty in caring for this gorgeous plant.

Echeveria’s Blue Curls care card

Echeveria ‘Blue Curls Plant Care

Echeveria blue curls succulent

The Echeveria blue curls hybrid the Echeveria gibbiflora and Echeveria blue waves. No wonder it is such a magnificent species to grow. Gardeners alike adore this succulent created by Frank Reinelt.

The blue-green leaves grow with stunning colors and are not complicated succulents to take care of. The blue curls are fast growers forming rosette leaves. In the warm season, the leaves are blueishgreen, but as temperatures drop, the edges change to pink.

Yet, the color intensity depends on different factors like sun exposure and watering to temperatures. While the leaves grow wide, it cups inwards with attractive curls running alongside it.

When exposed to the full sun, the curls become more prominent with mature plants. As with The solitary plant, most other succulents have farina coated over the leaves to protect them from too much sun exposure.

The curls grow a low stalk to the ground, and when you report them regularly into larger pots, the roots spread. Finally, a mature plant sprout offsets at the bottom of the leaves, and flowering takes place in spring.

The succulent blooms are orangy bell-shaped flowers that can have a tint of yellow, and one rosette sends out up to three or more arching stalks with more flowers. Now that we have covered some of the blue curls’ best features, it is time to look closely at this attractive hybrid care.

The Type of Soil That Echeveria Needs

The soil requirement is similar to most cacti and other succulents when looking at the Echeveria blue curls. These are extremely valuable succulents that need well-drained soils to survive.

cactus/succulent mix

The growing medium needs to be porous to help keep excess water away from the roots of the blue curls to prevent rotted or dead roots. Hence, using soil made for succulents or cacti is of importance.

So, the gritty soils will help to provide aeration, nutrients, and moisture around the roots but not excessive moisture. Still, compared to garden growing, placing your blue curls in a container needs enough drainage holes.

Light Requirement for Echeveria To Have Showy Pink Hues

The blue curls need enough light for those gorgeous showy pink hues on the leaves. Hence, they need at least six to eight hours of full sun to partial shade. Therefore, when. Thus, placing these flowering plants outdoors in summer helps them flourish.

When your succulent does not receive enough bright indirect light, it becomes leggy and does not display those stunning colors. They also start growing elongated and leggy to reach the light. Sadly, they will not grow those pencil-sized flowering spikes at all.

If you grow your blue curls as an indoor plant, it also helps to turn them occasionally to provide light for all sides, eventually forming rosettes. Still, while this particular succulent is hardy, it should not receive too much direct sunlight as it leads to burnt leaves.

Another thing is if your living space does not have enough natural light, it also helps to invest in a grow light.

How To Water Echeveria

Like most succulents, the blue curls need only occasional watering as they store water in the fleshy leaves. The best is to wait until the soil dries before you water it again.

Another crucial thing in a container is to allow the water to drain freely and remove it from the catch saucer. Furthermore, water directly on the soil and avoid wetting the rosettes as it can lead to leaf rot and fungal disease.

During the growing season in spring and summer, your hardy plant will need regular water compared to winter. So, the rule is deep watering and leaving the soil to dry.

Fertilizer Needs for Echeveria

The blue curls are not a huge feeder and do not need fertilizing as they can grow in nutrient-poor soil. Still, to help encourage healthy growth, you can use a succulent or cactus fertilizer that is low in nitrogen and diluted to four times the normal strength. The best time to feed your succulent a balanced fertilizer is in spring and the summer months.

Temperature and Humidity Levels

succulent indoor temperature and humidity

An ideal temperature for this hardy plant is between 65°F and 75°F. Yet, while your plant is hardy, it cannot withstand temperatures dropping below 50°F as the leaves will not be hot pink but red to brown.

The blue curls prefer moderate humidity but not a high one compared to tropical plants. If you see the home does lack humidity, you can group them with other plants. When the moisture level is high, we recommend watering sparingly.

Another concern when growing your succulent outdoors is not letting the sun bake on the soil, as the roots need regular moisture to survive.

Repotting and Pruning

If you notice your blue curls growing leggy, you can give them a pruning to encourage new growth. We also recommend moving your plant to more light to prevent it from happening again.

You can also remove damaged and dead leaves using sterilized shears. Nonetheless, when it comes to repotting, you can expect to do this every two to three years or when your plant outgrows the container.

You can remove the old soil and provide your succulent with a fresh potting mix. You can then check the root system to remove dead roots when repotting.

Propagation of Echeveria

succulent propagation

As with most common Echeveria species, you can quickly propagate the blue curls by removing the offsets from the mother plant. You can also use leaf and stem cuttings to plant seeds.

Yet, the offset method remains the easiest with great success. If your mature plant sprouts offset, ensure that it is at least two inches in diameter before removing them from the parent plant.

The best time to do this is in the growing season. You can then plant the offsets separately into well-drained soil and keep it moist at first until it establishes itself. Then you can commence with watering as usual.

Echeveria Varieties

Here are some other exceptional varieties found in the Echeveria species.

Echeveria Desert Queen

Echeveria Desert Queen

The blue waves are also a hybrid succulent and sister seedling of the blue curls. It grows long stems with very dense rosettes with frilly edges. The stems grow longer than the rosettes displaying a tangle of branches, while the flowers are a red to orange color with fewer blue tones.

Echeveria gibbiflora

Echeveria gibbiflora succulent

The succulent grows in clumps with a large rosette 12 inches wide with reddish-pink, green leaves. It produces a long stem with tubular red and yellow flowers in summer.

Echeveria gibbiflora ‘Metallica.’

Another beautiful succulent is the Metallica, with short-stemmed rosettes and spoon-shaped leaves. It blooms bell-shaped flowers in reddish pink with a yellow center inside.

Echeveria ‘Blue Curls Diseases and Pests

As with any houseplant outdoor plant, the succulent is susceptible to insects and disease. In addition, your succulent can be bothered by aphids and mealybugs, and overwatering is of concern leading to root rot.

You can use an insecticide, rubbing alcohol, or neem oil for bugs. If your succulent does get root rot, you can remove the dead and damaged roots to repot in a clean, sterilized pot with fresh soil.

Frequently Asked Questions

Your succulent plant indoors needs a bright spot in a window to receive at least six to eight hours of sun daily. Without direct sunlight, it will become stretched, growing towards the light.

These succulents are pretty drought tolerant, and you can somewhat under than overwater. Regardless, the rule is to use the soak and dry methods. Hence, do deep watering and leave the soil to dry in between watering.

The succulent is native to semi-desert regions and does well outdoors and indoors in the right growing conditions.

You can find this magnificent succulent sold at local nurseries. But the best part is you need not go far. You can find this succulent here at Plantly.

Whether you want to buy, sell or simply reach out to other plant enthusiasts, Plantly is the right place to be!

Plantly Menu