P26 – Graptoveria ‘Lovely Rose’

Graptoveria ‘Lovely Rose’, also sold as Echeveria ‘Lovely Rose’, is an attractive small succulent with plump, fleshy, tightly compacted, gray-green leaves that form a beautiful rose-like cluster on the top of a bare stem. It produces offsets and develops a dense clump in time.

The flowers are pale yellow with a greenish midstripe on each petal and appear in clusters on short stalks in spring.

Hardiness

USDA hardiness zones 9a to 11b: from 20 °F (−6.7 °C) to 50 °F (+10 °C).

How to Grow and Care

The rules for Graptopetalum care are similar to those for most succulents. Container-bound plants thrive in a mixture of peat, sand, or other grit, topsoil, and a little bit of compost. Full sun is the best situation, but they will grow in partial sun with slightly rangy results.

Graptopetalums need excellent drainage and moderate water. You can tell when to water by sticking your finger in the soil. You should water if it is dry several inches down or the fleshy leaves look shriveled. Overwatering is a cause of root rots, and the plant can get several pest infestations.

These succulents are generally easily propagated by seeds, leaf cuttings, or offsets. Any rosette that breaks off has the potential to root and start a new plant. Even a leaf that drops off will root below the parent plant and produce a new rosette quickly. The new plant feeds off the leaf until it shrivels and falls off. The new little ghost plant had rooted and sprouted new leaves by then.