Echeveria purpusorum
| Light | Bright light to a few hours of direct sun; colours up best in strong light |
|---|---|
| Water | Sparingly; let the soil dry out completely between waterings, drier in winter |
| Soil | Gritty, fast-draining succulent mix (see Soil and potting mix) |
| Temperature | Keep above freezing; roughly USDA zones 9b–11 |
| Propagation | Seed and offsets (leaf cuttings are unreliable) |
| Toxicity | Non-toxic to cats and dogs |
Echeveria purpusorum is a small, slow-growing rosette-forming succulent from the arid mountains of Puebla and Oaxaca in south-central Mexico. It is prized for its stiff, sharply triangular leaves, which are an olive to grey-green heavily mottled with maroon and etched with fine reddish patterning, giving each plant a hard, almost reptilian look quite unlike the soft powdery rosettes of many other Echeveria. It was once placed in the genus Urbinia, and is still sometimes sold under the old name Urbinia purpusii.
Description
Echeveria purpusorum forms a compact, tight rosette rarely more than about 8 cm across, staying low and stemless for a long time. The leaves are thick, firm and keeled, tapering to a fine point, and their surface is matte with little of the powdery waxy bloom found on many other Echeveria. Colour is the plant's great appeal: an olive to grey-green ground overlaid with dense maroon to purplish-brown speckling and fine markings that intensify under bright light and cooler nights.
In late spring the rosette sends up a slender arching flower stalk carrying small urn-shaped blooms, red to orange on the outside and yellow within — typical of the genus and much loved by growers who cross it with other species.
Distribution and habitat
The species is native to the states of Puebla and Oaxaca in south-central Mexico, where it grows on rocky slopes and cliff faces in hot, seasonally dry scrub. In habitat it roots into gritty, sharply drained pockets among rock, exposed to strong light but sheltered from prolonged wet — conditions worth keeping in mind when growing it in cultivation.
Cultivation
Echeveria purpusorum is not difficult but it is slow, and it resents staying wet. Grow it in a very free-draining, mostly mineral mix in a pot only a little larger than the rosette, and give it bright light with a few hours of gentle direct sun to bring out the maroon patterning. Water thoroughly only once the soil has dried right through, then let it dry again; through winter keep it cool and almost completely dry to prevent rot. Because water tends to sit and rot the crown, watering from below or at the soil surface — rather than over the tight rosette — is a good habit. See Watering and Repotting for general technique.
Propagation
Unlike the many easy Echeveria that root from a single dropped leaf, E. purpusorum is reluctant from leaf cuttings, which frequently fail. The most reliable routes are seed and, more slowly, offsets. Mature plants eventually produce pups around the base that can be separated once they have their own roots (see Propagation — offsets); seed-raised plants are also widely available and vary attractively in the strength of their markings (see Propagation — seed). The species is a popular parent in hybridising, passing its firm textured leaves on to many named crosses.
Common problems
- Rot — the commonest killer, almost always from overwatering, a slow-draining mix, or water trapped in the tight crown.
- Etiolation — too little light stretches the rosette, spaces out the leaves and fades the maroon markings back toward plain green.
- Pests — mealybugs (white fluff between the leaves and around the roots) and the occasional aphid on flower stalks; see Pests and diseases.
See also
- Echeveria — the genus overview
- Soil and potting mix · Watering · Repotting · Propagation — offsets · Propagation — seed · Pests and diseases