Roger the Echeveria

by Dave
(York, England)

I’ve got a curious “echeveria” type plant.

I got it a year and a half ago when it was only a small rosette that was about 1.5 inches tall and 1.5 inches wide.

Since then it’s flowered twice, bolted to being a foot long, produced a little one from it’s base (that’s now 5 inches long), produced numerous little ones all along the stems, and in the last week started producing another little one from it’s base (it’s about 5mm tall at the moment).

The plant itself has large green fleshy leaves (the largest being 3 inches long and an inch wide). New growth (both leaves and stem) is covered with a very thin and almost turquoise substance which is removed when anything brushes against it. If you lightly touch a new leaf then you can leave a visible fingerprint on the plant. Without the turquoise covering the plant is a nice green colour.

When flowering it produces a stalk that’s about 6 inches long, which then splits at the end into little almost trumpet like red flowers. It flowers around September/October time here in the UK.

The plant has grown so fast that I’ve had to repot it 3 times. It came in a pot that was about 1.5 inches wide and tall, and it’s now enjoying a pot that’s 5 inches wide and 5 inches tall – it’s only been in it’s new pot 7 weeks, but has grown 2 inches since I put it in.

The history of me and my plant:

I’m in my second year at university. Before I started uni I asked my mum if she’d get me a plant that I could take with me. One day my sister and mum where at a garden centre when they saw this plant and bought it for me. As the plant came without a name tag it affectionately became known as “Roger”, with the little ones it produces being jokingly termed “Rogerlets”.

Transporting Roger home during holidays was quite easy at first (his pot could go in the drinks holder of a car), but now he’s in a larger pot I’ve had to take him to and from uni sat on my knee – does anybody know of a better way to transport plants?

It’d be brilliant to actually put a name to Roger, although I think it’ll probably always be affectionately known as Roger.

Drought Smart Plants reply:

I have a name for you – it’s Echeveria haagai tolimanensis, but you may wish to continue to call your plant Roger, as that’s quite a mouthful.

The ‘turquoise’ that you refer to is called ‘bloom’ or ‘pruinose’ and is used to protect the plant in one of the many ingenious ways these plants have. The waxy coating acts as a sunscreen, and to prevent moisture loss from the leaves.

To transport your plant, it may help to actually have a plastic cover to put over it to protect the foliage from jostling. I usually pack newspaper around the pot so that it can’t move around, then put the cover over it, but you could also use a deep box.

Your plant is obviously quite happy with the treatment it gets, so don’t change anything you’re doing. So far, in all the years I’ve been growing this plant it has never bloomed for me!

Good luck with your plant,
Jacki

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