How to Grow and Care for the Succulent Echeveria pulidonis 'Hua Yue Ye' (Red-Edge Echeveria)
Hua Yue Ye, commonly known as the red-edge echeveria, is a succulent plant (also called a succulent) belonging to the genus Echeveria in the family Crassulaceae. It comes in two types: thick-leaved and thin-leaved. Hua Yue Ye loves light, and it is best grown on an open-air south-facing balcony or south-facing windowsill. So how do you grow the Hua Yue Ye succulent? What are its cultivation methods and precautions?
Morphological characteristics:
It is a perennial succulent herbaceous plant, a small to medium-sized variety. The plant's leaves are densely arranged in a rosette. The leaves are thick and spoon-shaped, with relatively thin leaf margins and leaf tips. The leaf color is light green; under strong light and large day-night temperature differences or during low-temperature periods in winter, the leaf color deepens and the leaf margins turn purplish-red. Under weak light, the leaf color is light green. The leaf margins often show purplish-red when the temperature difference is large. The leaf surface is covered with a slight white powder; on old leaves the white powder naturally falls off, leaving a smooth surface. Hua Yue Ye needs to receive sufficient sunlight for the leaf color and leaf margins to be vivid and for the plant shape to be more compact and attractive. Too little sunlight results in light leaf color and loose, elongated, sprawling leaf arrangement. Hua Yue Ye is quite attractive when young; with good light the leaves stay very short, but once it grows larger the leaves are hard to control and tend to grow long, even when sunned every day, which is also the most obvious difference from Echeveria 'Moon Goddess'. After many years of clustering, the plant also becomes very spectacular. Hua Yue Ye has a spike inflorescence, with slightly yellow flowers that are five-lobed at the tip.
Cultivation points:
Hua Yue Ye needs a sunny, cool and dry environment. It tolerates partial shade, fears waterlogging, and dislikes muggy, humid conditions. It has the habit of growing in cool seasons and going dormant at high summer temperatures.
The plant's growing seasons are from September to November each year and from March to June of the following year (the growing season varies in length depending on the grower's environment). If light is insufficient, the plant's leaves will become leggy and the red leaf margins will gradually fade; whereas plants grown in sufficient sunlight have a short, sturdy shape and a compact leaf arrangement.
During the growing season, keep the soil moist and avoid water accumulation. The soil can be cinder mixed with peat and a small amount of perlite, in a ratio of roughly 6:3:1.
Summer and winter care:
Winter: Hua Yue Ye can tolerate low temperatures of around minus 4°C, which refers to indoor temperatures, not open-air conditions; any lower and the growing point at the leaf tip will suffer frost damage and die off. Basically withhold water throughout the winter; below 5 degrees, begin gradually withholding water.
At high summer temperatures the whole plant grows slowly or stops growing completely. At this time, ensure good ventilation and appropriate shading, avoid exposure to scorching sun, moderate watering, and do not let it be rained on for long periods, to prevent the plant from rotting.
Propagation methods:
Hua Yue Ye is generally propagated by beheading to produce offsets or by leaf cuttings. The beheaded plant can be directly stuck into dry gritty soil, given a little water after a few days, and it roots very easily.
Leaf cuttings are a bit slow. Remove a complete, plump leaf, leave it in a cool place to let the wound dry, then place it on soil. The soil should not be too wet; slight moisture is enough, and it will slowly sprout and grow into a new plant.
Anyone who has grown succulents knows that Hua Yue Ye, Echeveria 'Moon Goddess' and Echeveria chihuahuaensis look similar and are easily confused. Next, let's talk about their differences!
1. Hua Yue Ye
Hua Yue Ye is a perennial succulent herbaceous plant, with leaves densely arranged in a rosette. The leaves are thick and spoon-shaped, with relatively thin leaf margins and leaf tips. The leaf color is light green; under strong light and large day-night temperature differences or during low-temperature periods in winter, the leaf color deepens and the leaf margins turn purplish-red. Under weak light, the leaf color is light green.
2. Echeveria 'Moon Goddess'
Echeveria 'Moon Goddess' is a hybrid of Hua Yue Ye and Echeveria elegans. The plant's leaves are densely arranged in a rosette. The leaves are thick and spoon-shaped, with relatively thin leaf margins and leaf tips. The leaf color is light green; under strong light and large day-night temperature differences or during low-temperature periods in winter, the leaf color deepens and the leaf margins turn pink. Under weak light, the leaf color is light green.
3. Echeveria chihuahuaensis
Echeveria chihuahuaensis has relatively thick ovate leaves with small tips, blue-green in color, dusted with a thick white powder, and with deep pink leaf margins; it is small and adorable. The inflorescence is curved at the tip, red, and bell-shaped.
4. How to distinguish them
For these succulents, they can still be distinguished quite well by the subtle differences in their leaves.
Echeveria 'Moon Goddess': the center of Echeveria 'Moon Goddess' looks as if it has been flattened, irregular, with the leaves extending outward.
Hua Yue Ye: the leaves of Hua Yue Ye are in a regular radiating pattern, and Hua Yue Ye's leaves are thick with a somewhat long leaf shape.
Echeveria chihuahuaensis: compared with Hua Yue Ye, the leaf color of Echeveria chihuahuaensis is greener (Hua Yue Ye leans a bit more blue), with only the leaf tips showing a fresh, tender red.