Succulents are popular for their resilience and tolerance. We are introducing another resilient peep, the Echeveria Cheyenne. This native of Mexico and South America is a large bluish-grey rosette. The tips of the leaves are purplish and beautifully ruffled, giving an attractive abstract look to the plant. This is a drought-resistant and temperature-tolerant plant.
These features make it a preferable option for warm dry regions and areas with abrupt seasonal changes. Moreover, the medium size and easy-to-care nature make it suitable for both indoor and outdoor plantations. Still with us? Keep reading for a summarized guide about the Cheyenne, commonly known as the Echeveria echinata.
Echeveria Cheyenne Classification
Family: Crassulaceae.
Subfamily: Echeverioideae
Genus: Echeveria.
History:
This beautiful plant has its roots connected to back in the 18th Century. The Spanish explorers discovered it while roaming through Mexico. Among these explorers was Dr. Atanasio Echeverria, who became the inspiration to adopt the name of the genus.
Genus Echeveria:
This winner genus of American horticulture award was discovered back in the late 1820s including all the unique 150 flowering plants. The main feature is their thick fleshy leaves mastering the art of retaining water. These leaves not only enhance the appearance but also add to the resilience of the plant.
Other Name:
The name Echeveria echinata also refers to the same plant.
Features of Echeveria Cheyenne Plant
Size:
The mature rosettes grow up to one foot in size. The plant spreads by growing small identical baby plants known as pups or chicks.
Leaves:
- Leaves are thick and wide with ruffled edges. They can get about 3 to 4 inches on maturity.
- The surface of the petals is covered by a powdery white substance known as Farina. This powdery layer serves to save the plant from the harmful rays of the sun.
Echeveria Cheyenne Flower:
In the season, the plant grows typical Echeveria flower in shades of pink, purple, and grey. The long stick-like stalk bears numerous flowers of small size.
Toxicity:
Echeverias are generally known to be safe for pets. However, it is prudent to avoid any kind of health risks. So, do not let kids and pets mingle with the plants.
Dormancy:
Just like the other genus members, Echeveria Cheyenne also displays a common sleeping pattern in winter. This minimizes the nutrition and water requirements. Thus, make sure you reduce the watering and feeding accordingly. Looking for details? Keep reading to see the details in the next section.
Echeveria Cheyenne Care
Known for their resilience and easy-to-go nature, these plants are a nice option for everyone. Thus, feel free to enjoy the one around you even if you are a beginner or a busy person.
Quick Guide:
Water: Infrequent (after the soil dries)
Sun: Full Sun to Partial shade.
Humidity: Average.
Fertilizer: Monthly dose in spring and summer.
Let us have a detailed look at the care and maintenance of the Echeveria Cheyenne plant:
Water Requirement
The simple soak and dry watering strategy fit well enough here. On warm days, give plenty of water to drench the soil. Afterward, let the soil dry out before watering again. Once or twice a week is a good frequency for spring and summer. Monitor the condition of the soil and water accordingly.
Coming towards the colder days; winter puts the Echeverias to sleep. This minimizes the water and nutrition requirement. So, watering the plant once every three weeks is usually enough for their survival.
Succulents do not like to stand in wet or soggy soil. Moreover, over-watering is one of the most harmful things you can do to your plant. So, avoid it at all costs by not watering unless the soil gets dry.
Important Instructions:
- Avoid cold water and prefer using lukewarm especially in winter.
- Standing water at the base of the rosettes is a perfect dwelling place for bugs and pests. So, don’t keep the rosette wet while preferring to water the soil only.
Sunlight Requirement
Full to partial sun is what your Echeveria Cheyenne succulent needs. A spot with around 3 to 4 hours of direct sun is an ideal condition. However, the plant can not withstand long hours of the direct sun especially in winter and fierce summer.
This peep goes perfectly with artificial light. So, people living in flats and not-so-sunny places can also enjoy the plant.
Temperature Requirement
An ideal temperature range of Echeverias stands between 65 to 75 F. These show good tolerance for warm days. Howbeit, a pleasant temperature always keeps the plant happy.
On the other hand, Echeverias don’t look much happy when we talk about cold temperatures. A temperature below 20F can freeze and even kill your succulent. Thus, don’t forget to bring the plant indoors before the autumn. This is a special piece of advice for people living in regions with strong winters.
Humidity Requirement
The Echeveria Cheyenne is not much specific about the humidity levels. A moderate level of moisture is good enough to keep the plant healthy.
Soil Requirement
A well-drained and aerated growing medium is a necessity for all succulents. Buying a cactus or succulent mix is the first option. Also, you can mix some gravel in the soil to increase drainage. People even use gavel alone and get successful results in growing these plants.
Echeveria Cheyenne Fertilizer Requirement
Simply use a common houseplant fertilizer and give monthly doses on warm days. It is always better to opt for mild fertilizer and half of the stated dose. This will help you to avoid over-fertilization which can show serious hazardous consequences.
Besides quantity, avoiding over-fertilization also includes opting for suitable months. As you know that the dormant plants minimize their nutritional requirement. So, make sure you never fertilize after the end of the summer until the middle of the spring.
Maintenance Requirement
The water and humidity in the base of the outer leaves support the insects like mealybugs. So, make sure you remove the outer ones. This will remove the old and dead leaves giving a healthier state to the rosette.
Hardiness Zone
All the Echeverias are hardy in USDA hardiness zones 9b to 11 b.
Echeveria Cheyenne Propagation
These plants are pretty easy to propagate. The common methods are:
- Division of chicks.
- Rooting the leaves.
Let us have an outline for each of the above.
Propagation by Chicks:
Just like the majority of other rosettes Echeverias, this one too spreads by making baby rosettes. You can simply separate and replant them to get new Cheyenne Plants.
- Spring and summer are the suitable seasons for this division. Better not to disturb the sleeping Echeverias in winter as this will not result in a successful propagation.
- When you see some chicks growing around your Rosette, you know you can finally make more. Just take a knife and sterilize it with some rubbing alcohol. You can skip sterilization if the product is unavailable at home.
- Loosen the soil around the chicks and cut them from the mother. Take them out from the soil by being very careful about the roots.
- Plant these chicks in your desired pots and enjoy their growth.
Initial Care:
- Do not drench the soil heavily in the first month. A mild watering will be enough to avoid washing out the soil around the roots of the new peep. Moreover, the light and temperature should be the same as it was staying in with the parent plant.
- Once the initial four weeks are gone, you can simply follow the care as stated in the previous section.
Propagation by Leaf Cuttings:
This is a slow yet an easiest method for propagating Echeveria Cheyenne.
- Cut a few leaves from the rosettes and place them over the potting mixture. It is better to cover the pot to conserve moisture.
- Wait for about three to four weeks and you will see tiny roots growing out from the leaf ends. Just take them out carefully and place them at your desired place. Now, sit back and see them growing into beautiful rosettes.
Initial Care:
Rooted petals don’t like to stand in drenched soil. Just water the soil with mild splashes until the first four to five weeks are gone.
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Summary
Echeveria Cheyenne, also known as Echeveria echinata is a beautiful Mexican native succulent. The large rosettes are bluish-grey with ruffled edges. The plant blooms in typical Echeveria flowers which enhances the appearance.
These are easy-to-care plants happy enough with typical Echeveria Care. Infrequent watering with full to partial sun is what they need to stay happy. Just feel free to enjoy these rosettes for both indoor and outdoor plantations.
