Succulents own a special love from the majority of the plant lovers. We are introducing another one for you, the Echeveria ‘Blue Sky’. This beautiful peep grows in form of large spatulate rosettes. The thick fleshy petals are bluish-green with a pinkish tint on tips and outer sides. To your surprise, the pink turns even deeper in the bright sun.
These large spreading rosettes make an attractive option for both indoor and outdoor plantations. And above all, it comes with the easy-to-go nature, happy enough with the general “succulent care”. Want to know more? Keep reading to enjoy a summarized guide about the Blue Sky Echeveria Plant.
Echeveria ‘Blue Sky’ Classification
Family: Crassulaceae
Subfamily: Sempervivoideae
Genus: Echeveria
History:
The Blue Sky succulent comes from the land of a few regions of America and Mexico. According to popular belief, this is known to be a hybrid of the species Echeveria imbricata.
A contrary belief states that it two of these are just similar in appearance with no other connection at all. However, little is known about the real parentage of this plant.
Genus Echeveria:
1828 was the year to officially introduce the genus of about 150 flowering species. A.P. de Candolle named it in honor of the Mexican artist of botany belonging to the 18th century.
The main features of Echeverias include the thick fleshy leaves, beautiful appearance, and evergreen nature. These features made them among the winners of the Royal Horticulture award.
Features of Echeveria ‘Blue Sky’ Succulent
Size
- The size of an average mature rosette goes to about 10 inches.
- The mature leaves are about 2 to 3 inches. However, the younger ones in the center are much smaller.
- The leaves have a thick coating of a natural powdery substance called farina. This powdery layer serves to reduce the harmful effects of the sun on the plant.
Echeveria ‘Blue Sky’ Flower
In the early days of fall, your Blue Sky will bloom with typical Echeveria flowers. The long stick-like stalk bears numerous flowers in light shades of pink.
Toxicity
Just like other members of the genus, the Blue Sky Echeveria is known to be safe for pets. However, it is always better to keep kids and pets away from plants to avoid any kind of incidents.
Echeveria ‘Blue Sky’ Care
These blue rosettes are easy-to-care and hardy. The basic Echeveria know-how is enough to take good care of this plant.
Quick Guide:
Water: Infrequent watering
Sun: Partially shaded to full sun
Fertilizer: Monthly dose in spring and summer
Humidity: Average
Without any ado, let us learn the details of the Echeveria ‘Blue Sky’ requirements.
Water Requirement
The basic “succulent watering” is good enough for this peep. Just water the soil thoroughly to soak it well. Afterward, let it dry out nicely before watering again. Moreover, it is recommended to use lukewarm water to avoid the roots getting cold.
The watering frequency is decided according to the season and weather of your area. Water the plant about once or twice a week throughout the spring and summer.
As far as winters are concerned, the Echeverias get dormant. The water requirement minimizes to about once every two to three weeks. Also, unlike the warm days, you don’t need to deep soak the soil. A light soak is good enough to keep the plant alive.
Important Instructions:
- It is important to make sure you are not wetting out the rosettes. Any standing water at the outer leaves can attract pests like mealy bugs.
- Secondly, make sure you follow the above guidelines while strictly avoiding over-watering. Echeverias standing in wet and soggy soils for long are a perfect recipe for plant diseases. These issues include root rot and fungus.
Sunlight Requirement
The hardy peep adjusts well to a variety of sun levels including bright sun to partial shade. An ideal condition is a spot with four to six hours of direct sun. Find some east or west-facing window and your indoor Echeveria will love you for it. However, the beauty of the rosettes enhances as the pinkish tint goes deeper in the bright sun.
Although known to be hardy, yet Echeveria ‘Blue Sky’ can not stand direct sun for long hours. Moreover, a slow transition is preferred in case you want to shift the plant to the brighter sun.
For the places with the poor sun, a grow light can help well. Just place the plant under the light with a suitable distance of at least four feet.
Temperature Requirement
65 to 75 F is an ideal range for the majority of Echeverias. They survive the hot days pretty well. However, a medium temperature range is always best for these plants.
On the other hand, frosty days do not come in the good books of this genus. Any temperature below 20 F can freeze your Echeveria ‘Blue Sky’ to death. So, people of colder zones need to bring their Echeverias indoor to some warmer spot to avoid frost. A temperature range of 50 F is best for the winter days.
Humidity Requirement
Humidity is not something you need to be specific about in Blue Sky succulent Care. Any average level of the growth zone will be good enough to keep the plant happy.
Soil Requirement
A well-drained succulent mix with plenty of aeration is ideal for Echeveria ‘Blue Sky’. A mixture with 50 to 70% mineral grit like sand or perlite is a good option. Moreover, simply buy a cactus or succulent growing mixture from your nearby market and you are good to go.
Fertilizer Requirement
In the spring and summer, use a mild fertilizer once a month. A common houseplant fertilizer is good enough for this job. Just make sure you follow the instruction preferably reducing the stated dose to half.
It is an important part of the plant care to stop fertilizing before the fall. The reason behind this is the minimal nutrient requirement of the dormant plant. Moreover, any excess fertilizer can not only burn the foliage but can even kill the plant.
Maintenance Requirement
The mature and outer leaves of the rosettes are perfect dwelling places for insects and mites. So, remove the outer ones to avoid mite attacks. Also, this removes the old and dead leaves while giving a fresh look to your plant.
Hardiness Zone
The USDA hardiness zones 9b to 11 b with temperatures 25 to 50 F are the hardiness zones for Echeverias.
Echeveria ‘Blue Sky’ Propagation
You are here so you might be thinking about propagating some new Echeverias. And the good news is these peeps are pretty easy to propagate. The common methods include:
- Propagation by Chicks or pups.
- Propagation by rooting leaves.
Let us have a detailed guide about how to propagate your succulent Blue Sky.
Propagation by Chicks or pups:
The majority of the Echeverias grow small rosettes around the parent plant. These are known as chicks, pups, or buds. Removing and re-growing these puppies is the easiest and quickest way to get some grown Echeverias.
- Once you see the pups around your mature plant, you know it’s time to make some new pots.
- Cut the baby rosettes from the mother plant with a sterilized knife. Just be gentle as you don’t want to damage the plants or the roots.
- Now, remove the soil around the pups and gently take them out. Make sure the roots are intact.
- Plant the pups in a dry well-draining potting mix.
Initial Care:
- The new pups need very little watering in the initial weeks as you don’t want to wash away the soil. Just water lightly without drenching. However, after about two to three weeks, you can simply follow the watering instructions given above.
- It is better to keep them at the same spot at least for the whole initial month. As any abrupt changes in light can be a burden on the new chap.
Propagation by Leaf Cuttings:
This is also an easy method but takes a good time to develop a rosette.
- Just take a few leaves in the potting mixture.
- You can cover the pot to retain the moisture.
- Wait for about three to four weeks until you see tiny sprouts protruding out from the tips.
- These tiny ones can now be separated and grown in your desired place. Time to enjoy them growing slowly in beautiful rosettes.
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Summary
Echeveria ‘Blue Sky’ is an attractive and quick-growing succulent. The thick fleshy leaves are blue with a pinkish tint at the back and tips. This hardy and easy-to-grow peep is suitable enough for both indoor and outdoor plantations. Moreover, the beginning of fall will make the plant bloom with typical Echeveria flowers.
Infrequent watering and good sun are the main requirements of your plant. However, these show poor resistance towards frost. So, don’t forget to bring them indoors before the winter.
