Daren has an angel's face and a water-snake's waist

Daren is a succulent in the Crassulaceae family, Echeveria genus. Its parentage is Echeveria derenbergii x Echeveria 'Hana no Tsukasa'. Breeder: Victor Reiter. Daren is a small to medium-sized variety with an upright stem that grows easily and branches little. The plant forms a wrapped rosette, with long ovate leaves, a flat upper leaf surface, a slightly concave midrib, an arc-shaped bulge on the back of the leaf, and a prominent keel. The leaf tip is obtuse with a sharp point. The leaves range from green to blue, and the leaf tip, leaf margins, and leaf back easily turn red.

Daren

Daren perfectly inherits the traits of its parents, possessing both the fresh, elegant look of Echeveria derenbergii and the red-leaf trait of Echeveria 'Hana no Tsukasa' along with its tendency to grow tall. When in prime condition, the red margins on the leaf edges are striking, with hints of red blush on the leaf backs, and the rosette wraps tightly, just like a flower.

Daren

Daren's growth habits and care methods:

Daren is robust and not difficult to care for. Its only shortcoming is that it etiolates far too easily, so it must be given as much light as possible. During the spring and autumn growing seasons, provide full sun. If light is insufficient, Daren easily develops a water-snake waist (leggy stem). For watering, you can water thoroughly; when the potting soil is about 70 to 80 percent dry, you can water it thoroughly. Avoid letting it stay dry for long periods. During the rainy season, avoid prolonged rain exposure to prevent water accumulation and leaf rot. Daren is not difficult to get through summer. In summer, provide appropriate shade, ventilation, and water control, and maintain a certain amount of direct light to keep the plant from etiolating and flattening out like a pancake. Avoid stuffy, hot environments, prolonged soggy potting soil, and water sitting in the leaf center. For the potting mix when planting Daren, choose a loose, breathable medium such as peat/coco coir and gritty soil, with a relatively high proportion of gritty soil. For propagation, Daren can be propagated by leaf cuttings or stem cuttings, preferably in spring and autumn. For more care methods for Daren, you can refer to Hong Huazhuang (Red Makeup), which has a somewhat similar red margin.

Daren

The difference between Daren and Hong Huazhuang (Red Makeup):

Daren was formerly also written in Latin as E. "Victor", which is now the Latin name of Hong Huazhuang (Red Makeup). The two share one of the same parents, Echeveria derenbergii, but the other parent of Hong Huazhuang is Echeveria multicaulis. Both are equally prone to etiolation, but the two have obvious differences in leaf shape. Hong Huazhuang's leaves are shorter and fatter, so its rosette looks more spread out, while Daren's leaves are longer and its wrapped posture is stronger. At the same time, Daren's red margins and leaf color contrast are more intense.