Echeveria is a large genus of flowering plants in the stonecrop family Crassulaceae, native to semi-desert areas of Central America, Mexico, and northwestern South America. Plants may be evergreen or deciduous. Flowers on short stalks (cymes) arise from compact rosettes of succulent fleshy, often brightly colored leaves. These species are polycarpic, meaning that they may flower and set seed many times over the course of their lifetimes. Often numerous offsets are produced and are commonly known as "hen and chicks", which can also refer to other genera, such as Sempervivum, that are significantly different from Echeveria. Many species of Echeveria serve important environmental roles, such as those of host plants for butterflies.
Like they’re used to in their native growing grounds, Echeveria like full sun. However, try to avoid these two things: drastic sunlight changes and summer afternoon full sun. When you water Echeveria, water the soil and not the rosette. Pour on the water until it drains out the bottom. Repeat this a couple times. Then don’t water again until the soil has dried out. You don’t want your plant to remain soaking wet all the time. To help prevent this, don’t let the pot sit in a saucer full of water. Like all succulents, Echeveria need soil that drains quickly. This helps prevent moisture from rotting the roots.
