by Lisa Morgan
(Northern California)
Hi! Can you tell me what to do with the stalks after the flowers are done blooming? Shall I cut the stems to give the plant more energy?
Hi Lisa, that looks like one of the many gorgeous Echeveria that have been produced by breeders in California – Dick Wright is a famous hybridizer of these great plants and introduced many of them to both North America and Australia.
As these hybrids are perennials, they bloom many times over their lifetime, and in some cases can have up to ten or more stalks coming from one plant.
Once the flowers are finished, the stalk will generally dry out; the ‘dead’ flowers are actually most likely pollinated by insects, and if there are other Echeveria around that bloom at the same time, you could be the owner of the next brand new hybrid; the seeds are tiny, like fine dust, but each one could produce a new plant.
If you’re not into propagating the plant by seed, by all means cut the stalks off close to the base, and the mother plant will happily grow and produce more flowers the following year.
Happy succulent gardening!
Jacki
