Synonyms:

Echeveria ‘West Rainbow’

Habitat:

E. Rainbow is a hybrid and is a variegated form of Echeveria ‘Perle Von Nürnberg’ so it has nursery origin.

Description:

E. ‘Rainbow’ is a cultivar of Echeveria ‘Perle Von Nürnberg’ and belongs to the Crassulaceae botanical family. The plant is small in size and can reach 15 cm in diameter. The succulent forms a rosette of dense and lanceolate fleshy leaves with the pointed apex. Leaves take on extraordinary colors and can range from pale green to pink passing through yellowish. Normally the leaves are bright pink like sunset but sometimes they have definite color streaks other times the nuance is homogeneous. Temperatures affect the color of the leaves, with high temperatures the plant takes on lighter colors while with colder temperatures the plant changes to darker and denser colors. The variety of color that this plant can take on, justify the name of this succulent.

Cultivation:

E. ‘Rainbow’ is a slow growing succulent, quite easy to cultivate. The best sun-exposure is full sunlight, and the plant does not like temperatures below 10 °C so it needed to be placed indoors. The soil should be mixed with pumice, clay and loam to allow the drainage and prevent the root rot, the plant is prone to it indeed. Remember to use perforating pot to drain excess water. Watering can be done regularly from March to November: during the vegetative period you can water the plant (every 7 days), checking that the soil is completely dry before watering again; in winter you should stop the watering to allow to the plant to enter dormancy. If you want a faster and lush growth you can fertilize the plant once a month during the growing season with the specifics fertilizers for cacti; stop fertilizing throughout the winter. If the pot starts to be too small for the plant you can repot the plant in a pot 2 cm wider. Repotting should be done early in the growing season with fresh new potting soil. It is important to remove the dead leaves that fall at the base of the stem because otherwise the high humidity level increases the attacks of parasites.

Propagation:

Echeverias are one of the easiest succulents to propagate. Because Echeveria ‘Rainbow’ is a hybrid, in order not to lose the characteristics of the plant, propagation can only be done by cutting. By cutting you can use leaf cuttings during the spring. Cut the leaves as close as possible to the stem and then let it dry; after a few days the cut surface will dry and a callus will form, then place the cutting in a mixture of sand, soil and pumice. To increase success of propagation you can cut two or more leaves at the same time. For Echeverias, is recommended for cuttings, temperatures around 20 °C.

Curiosity:

The name “Echeveria” comes from Atanasio Echeverria, naturalist, botanist and Mexican artist of the late 1700s who painted and cooperated on the discovery and cataloging Mexico’s natural flora.