Echeveria agavoides 'Ebony'
Echeveria agavoides 'Ebony is a striking cultivar of the popular rosette succulent Echeveria agavoides, prized for the dramatic near-black margins that bleed inward from the pointed tips of its otherwise pale green, waxy leaves. It is one of the most sought-after agavoides selections among collectors, valued for the sharp contrast between its glassy body and its inky, penciled edges.
Care follows the parent species, Echeveria agavoides; see that page for full detail. The notes below cover only what sets 'Ebony' apart.
Description
Like the parent, 'Ebony' forms a tight, symmetrical rosette of thick, firm, triangular leaves that taper to a fine terminal point, giving the plant its agave-like silhouette. What distinguishes the cultivar is the coloration of the leaf edges and tips: a deep maroon to almost black pigment concentrates along the margins and the pointed apex, often extending as thin dark lines back toward the body of the leaf. The intensity of this near-black edging varies from plant to plant and with growing conditions — strong light and cooler temperatures tend to deepen and darken the margins, while shade and comfortable warmth can leave them muted and greener.
Several closely related dark-margined selections circulate under overlapping names, and plants sold as 'Ebony' are not always uniform. As with many prized agavoides lines, the finest, darkest specimens are the result of careful selection.
Cultivation
Grow 'Ebony' as for the parent species, Echeveria agavoides: bright light, a fast-draining, mostly mineral mix, and thorough watering only once the soil has dried out completely. The one point worth emphasizing is light — the signature black margins depend on it. Given ample bright light (with a little protection from the harshest afternoon sun to avoid scorching), the dark edges develop their strongest contrast; grown too soft or shady, the plant etiolates, loses its tight form, and the prized coloration fades toward plain green.
See Repotting and Pests and diseases for general care.
Propagation
'Ebony', like the parent species, tends to grow as a mostly solitary rosette and offsets only sparingly, so vegetative increase is limited: when offsets are produced they can be removed and rooted, and leaf cuttings are sometimes taken, though leaf propagation of agavoides and its selections is slow and unreliable. Partly for this reason the cultivar is often raised commercially from seed — but seed-grown plants vary in how dark their margins turn out, so a named clone is kept true only through vegetative propagation, not from seed. See Propagation — offsets and Propagation — cuttings for technique.
See also
- Echeveria agavoides — the parent species
- Echeveria — the genus overview
- Soil and potting mix · Watering · Propagation — offsets · Propagation — cuttings · Repotting