From the soaring mountains of Mexico and Argentina comes a pretty thing: Echeveria laui. Echeveria is a slow-growing succulent genus of plants that has more than 150 varieties.
It’s most popular among those who love beauty and aesthetics. Interior decorators, or even just folks who like their houses to have a serene vibe, all love Echeveria laui!
One thing that makes this plant stand out is its beautiful relaxing colors, which we’ll get into in a second. Another thing though, thanks to its succulent nature, is that it can be grown both indoors and outdoors.
This is a plant that’s not that needy when it comes to the care it requires. Nonetheless, there are some things that you need to know to care for this pretty thing in the best way possible.
Echeveria Laui Description: Colors and Identification
Belonging to the family Crassulaceae, Echeveria laui shares some similarities with two other members of this family: Aeonium and sempervivum. Having said so, now let’s go through this plant’s distinctive features, that set it apart even from its family members!
Echeveria Laui Distinctive Features
Echeveria laui is best identified by its usual pale color, that’s a mixture of pink and white. It can also be peach in color, which is a color that doesn’t stray away much from the pink-white mixture. Blue is a color that it might assume as well.
Its leaves are known for being shaped like rosettes, chubby ones. These round rosettes have characteristic pointy tips.
Unlike sempervivum, these pointy tips don’t occupy much of the edge. The leave’s edge is fairly wide. It’s also smooth, unlike the sempervivum which has teeth-like protrusions on its edges.
Echeveria Laui Care Guide
Echeveria laui shares a lot of its growing conditions with other tender succulents. Examples of tender succulents are Kalanchoe, Aloe, and Crassula.
Now let’s take a look at Echeveria’s seasonality, pests and pesticides, and flowering. To offer optimal care, let’s also learn about light preference, temperature preference, appropriate fertilizer, and more.
Seasonality
Unlike many plants, autumn isn’t the season that withers echeveria laui away. The echeveria is actually in its best color in autumn!
Regarding spring, the freshness of the newly grown leaves becomes especially pronounced. While spring is when the leaves start to awaken, summer is when they start to weaken.
And finally, it’s winter when some leaves die. However, some other leaves do survive, by virtue of wrapping themselves around the stem, to shield them from the cold. The leaves that died need to be dealt with immediately after the passing of the winter.
Why Is It Important to Deal With Dead Leaves Promptly?
It’s crucial to remove dead leaves so new ones can grow in their place. Not only that, but dead leaves can actually become a fertile land for the growth of pests. These pests will feed on your plant, on its dead and living leaves alike.
So you did leave dead leaves, and they’ve attracted unwanted pests, what to do now? Well, you’ll have to get a little bit acquainted with these pests, and their counteracting pesticides, which you will if you keep reading!
Flowering
Echeveria laui is described as a polycarpic plant. Meaning, it flowers, blooms, and reblooms multiple times during its lifetime. While this could be breathtaking to you, it could be also breathtaking to the plant, but in a more literal way: It could cause the plant to die!
The flowering process requires a lot of energy from the plant. So if your Echeveria laui is old, or just isn’t in optimal health, this high energy expenditure will take its toll.
What to do about that? Actually, the fix is easy. All that you’ve got to do is cut off some of the flowering stalks. Flowering stalks are the parts of your plant that give rise to flowers.
Light
Generally speaking, Echeveria laui can handle desert heat better than the frost. Actually, it loves the full sun.
However, If it’s a burning hot summer afternoon, then you might want to give it some sun-free time. Also, if you’ve been keeping it inside for a while, you might want to re-expose it to the sun gradually.
A sudden increase in the sunlight it receives will cause burns. These burns will be hard to heal, owing to a simple fact: Echeveria laui holds on to its leaves for extended periods of time.
Temperature and USDA Zone
The most suitable temperature for this plant during summer ranges between 65° and 70° degrees Fahrenheit. While its preferred temperature during the wintertime hovers around 50° degrees Fahrenheit.
Regarding the USDA zone, it exists between zone 9b to zone 11b. In other words, from the 25° degree Fahrenheit to the 50° degree Fahrenheit range.
Watering
Overwatering is the bane of Echeveria laui. It can pose a greater danger than pests, as its occurrence is much higher, and it also can cause a pest problem!
Overwatering allows for fungal and bacterial infections. It also causes the roots to rot. It has the same effect on the stems as well. Regarding the leaves, it might cause them to fall off and die. And you know what dead leaves attract!
Soil
Well-draining soil is what this plant prefers. This type of soil fights against moisture, which isn’t a good mix with this plant. A well-draining soil can be made by mixing perlite with soil. Mixtures like the cactus mix will do the trick as well.
Regarding the optimal ph for Echeveria laui’s soil, it hovers around 6.0.
Fertilizer
Fertilizer isn’t always an essential requirement for Echeveria luau. As mentioned earlier, they’re not needy plants.
The fact that they don’t need much fertilizing, makes them prone to overfertilizing. The consequence of that would be what’s known as a fertilizer burn. That’s damage occurring to the foliage of the plant.
Nonetheless, fertilizing sparingly can be perfectly safe, and beneficial. Low-nitrogen fertilizers are preferred. Also, you should opt for a slow-release fertilizer. That can be best used at the outset of springtime.
What Are Echeveria Laui’s Pests?
The three most common pests preying on your Echeveria are spider mites, succulent mealybugs, and fungus gnats. What’s most tricky about them is the fact that you can’t spot them right away. They’re small, and they hide well.
So you’ll know they’re present when you see their impact, aka, the damage on your plant.
How to Deal With Echeveria Laui’s Pests?
Dealing with pests can be as easy as washing them off with water. It may require wiping with cotton that has alcohol on it. Or maybe spray an alcoholic solution that has two-thirds water.
The use of natural pest solutions like neem oil sprays can come in handy as well. In a more systemic infestation, you may resort to an insecticide like imidacloprid. Generally, the use of insecticides and similar solutions is your last resort, as Echeveria is a sensitive plant.
Final Words
Echeveria laui is a relatively easy-to-grow plant, that’s native to the mountainous areas in Argentina and Mexico.
True, this plant can be slow-growing. However, the fact that it has wonderful soothing looks makes it totally worth the wait. Also, it blooms multiple times during its lifespan, so more amazing looks for you!
It has some special conditions, like the soil it needs and the amount of watering that can be dangerous if exceeded. Always remember, it’s more prone to overwatering and overfertilizing than the reverse. That doesn’t mean to let it dry out though!
Because above all, Echeveria is such a sensitive plant, so handle with care, and keep in mind the conditions we reviewed.
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