Beyond the mountains, beyond the sea, there lives a group of blue smurfs

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Text and images: This girl is a little sweet

Ever since I fell down the succulent rabbit hole, my favorite color has been that touch of blue in the succulent world, which is so cool and aloof it has no friends. Today I'll take stock of 16 blue-toned succulents and tell a legend of the blue ocean!!!

1. Sapphire

Sapphire is a succulent in the Crassulaceae family, Echeveria genus, a small clustering type; its form closely resembles Ruby, but the leaves are more angular, and the key point is that the leaf color is blue-green. Under sufficient light, the leaf tips, leaf edges and leaf backs take on red, and the leaves also carry white markings.

How to care for Sapphire:

Sapphire likes a warm, humid, sunny growing environment, and grows best between 12-18°C, so spring and autumn are its growing seasons. Water using the soak-and-dry principle: water thoroughly only after the soil has dried out. Full sun keeps the light plentiful, maintaining form and color. When summer heat exceeds 35°C, or winter lows drop below 5°C, it enters dormancy; during this time reduce watering. In summer heat, provide appropriate shade and ventilation, prevent water accumulation, and avoid high-temperature black rot. In winter, normal watering is fine above 5°C; otherwise gradually reduce or stop watering. Below 0°C keep the potting soil dry to prevent freezing.

How Sapphire propagates:

1. Leaf-cutting propagation: take healthy, plump leaves, let the wounds dry in a ventilated spot, place them on propagating soil, and young plants will grow on their own.

2. Division propagation: Sapphire clusters easily; carefully separate the clustered plants, keeping the roots intact, and plant them separately.

2. Blue Bean

Blue Bean is a succulent in the Crassulaceae family, Graptopetalum genus, a perennial herb native to Mexico, and a fairly rare succulent that carries its own fragrance. The oblong leaves grow in opposite pairs in a ring; the leaf tips stay red year-round, the leaf color is pale blue, and the surface carries a white powder. Under ample sunlight and a large temperature difference, the leaves turn a beautiful blue-white; otherwise the leaf color is light blue and it easily grows leggy. In bloom it produces small five-pointed flowers in alternating white and red.

How to care for Blue Bean:

Blue Bean likes light and water; spring and autumn are its growing seasons. Use the soak-and-dry principle: water thoroughly only after the soil has dried out, and give full sun to maintain color and form. When summer heat exceeds 35°C it enters dormancy; provide appropriate shade and prevent scorching sun. In the rainy season avoid prolonged rain or overwatering, and be sure to ventilate well to avoid water accumulation causing high-temperature black rot. In winter, when temperatures are low, the leaf color turns a beautiful blue-white; keep it warm, and below 0°C reduce or stop watering and keep the potting soil dry to prevent freezing to death. Note especially that Blue Bean is famously difficult to establish after repotting, and in summer dormancy it establishes especially slowly, so it should not be bought in summer.

How Blue Bean propagates:

1. Leaf-cutting propagation: take healthy, plump leaves, let the wounds air-dry naturally, and wait for young plants to grow.

2. Stem-cutting propagation: take a healthy branch, about 5 cm, air-dry the wound, insert it into the medium and wait for it to root and establish.

3. Blue Fox

Blue Fox is a succulent in the Crassulaceae family, Echeveria genus. Its form looks superbly like lettuce, with large leaves whose edges have irregular waves, and the leaf color is pale blue with pink edges. A clustering succulent, it easily develops into an old stem. Currently relatively few people grow it in China, so reference material is scarce.

How to care for Blue Fox:

Blue Fox is a spring-autumn growing type, with an optimal growing temperature of 10-25°C. During the growing season use the soak-and-dry principle and simply keep the light plentiful. In summer heat it enters dormancy; provide appropriate shade and water control, and prevent prolonged rain and overwatering from causing water accumulation that triggers high-temperature rot. Blue Fox is a relatively cold-hardy variety in winter, tolerating -4°C; pay attention to water control in winter, but do not cut water off completely; simply keep the potting soil dry.

How Blue Fox propagates:

1. Division propagation: carefully divide the clustering Blue Fox, keeping the roots intact, and plant them separately.

2. Stem-cutting propagation: take healthy branches, air-dry the wounds, insert them into the medium and wait for them to root and establish.

4. Blue Echeveria

Blue Echeveria is a succulent in the Crassulaceae family, Echeveria genus, a classic Echeveria and a medium-to-large type. The leaves are arranged tightly in a rosette. The plant is not large, with a short stem and root, and easily forms an old stem. The leaves are relatively thin and inverted teardrop-shaped, mostly blue-white overall, with a layer of white powder on the surface; when light is plentiful the leaf edges turn pink, and in spring it blooms small yellow-red flowers.

How to care for Blue Echeveria:

Blue Echeveria likes a warm, dry, sunny growing environment; it is drought-tolerant but not cold-tolerant, and tolerates partial shade. Spring and autumn are its growing seasons; water using the soak-and-dry principle, keep it in full sun, maintain form and color, and prevent it from growing leggy. In summer heat it enters dormancy, with growth stalled or completely stopped; provide appropriate shade and water control to prevent high-temperature black rot. Below 5°C in winter, reduce watering and keep the potting soil dry to prevent freezing. Blue Echeveria is a medium-to-large type and grows fairly fast; repot roughly every 1-3 years. Note especially that high summer heat is not suitable for fertilizing; during the spring and autumn growing seasons you can try a light fertilizer once every half month.

How Blue Echeveria propagates:

1. Seed propagation: the seeds are tiny; you can sow them by scattering blindly, best done in February-April.

2. Leaf-cutting propagation: take healthy, plump leaves; after the wounds air-dry, young plants grow on their own.

3. Side-shoot stem cutting (including beheading): Blue Echeveria readily produces side shoots; take mature side shoots, air-dry the wounds, insert them into a sand bed and wait for them to root and establish.

5. Blue Chalksticks

Blue Chalksticks is a succulent in the Asteraceae family, Senecio genus, native to South Africa. Its leaf shape is somewhat like that of the "Thousand Buddha Hands," long spindle-shaped with a slightly finger-like feel; the leaf color is a particularly special sky blue year-round, turning a beautiful purple when exposed to strong light.

How to care for Blue Chalksticks:

Blue Chalksticks likes a sunny, warm, humid growing environment and can be grown in full sun. Compared with other succulents it is heat-tolerant but not cold-tolerant, and easier to care for. Choose a medium with good air permeability to avoid root rot. In spring and autumn, water using the soak-and-dry principle; because it is heat-tolerant, it also grows vigorously in summer with no obvious dormancy, so normal watering is fine, but above 35°C pay attention to water control. In winter, when temperatures are low, control water and below 5°C you can cut it off to prevent cold damage. During the growing season you can fertilize about once a month.

How Blue Chalksticks propagates:

1. Leaf-cutting propagation: take healthy, plump leaves, let the wounds air-dry naturally, and young plants grow on their own.

2. Stem-cutting propagation: take healthy stems, let the wounds air-dry naturally (one week), insert them into the medium and wait for them to root and establish (one month).

6. Little Blue Coat

Little Blue Coat is a succulent in the Crassulaceae family, Echeveria genus, a small clustering type. The leaves are thick and plump, arranged tightly in a lotus shape, with a layer of white powder on the surface. The leaf color is blue-white; when light is plentiful the leaf tips turn red, and the leaf tips carry small fuzz. In bloom it produces red or purplish-red flowers.

How to care for Little Blue Coat:

Little Blue Coat likes a light-loving, dry growing environment; spring and autumn are its growing seasons, it can take full sun, and it follows the soak-and-dry principle. In summer heat it enters dormancy, needing appropriate shade and ventilation and good water control; water a small amount at the roots once a week to maintain the plant's moisture and prevent it from drying out. Below 3°C in winter you can gradually cut off water; below 0°C be sure to keep the potting soil dry to prevent freezing. Note especially that Little Blue Coat grows in a ring, with a particularly low center, so when watering do not pour onto the flower center or leaves, to prevent leaf black rot; water along the edge of the pot at the roots.

How Little Blue Coat propagates:

1. Seed propagation

2. Division propagation: Little Blue Coat clusters easily; carefully separate the roots and plant the divisions separately.

3. Beheading propagation: after beheading and air-drying, insert as a cutting; at the cut site wait for pups to burst out.

7. Blue Bird

Blue Bird is a succulent in the Crassulaceae family, Echeveria genus; it is divided into Japanese Blue Bird, Blue Bird, Pink Blue Bird, Thick-leaf Blue Bird, Thin-leaf Blue Bird, and Mexican Blue Bird, with slight differences in leaf thickness and color. Blue Bird's leaves are arranged in a rosette, the leaf color is blue-green, and the leaf tips carry red or pink.

How to care for Blue Bird:

Blue Bird likes light and dryness; it is drought-tolerant but not cold-tolerant. During the spring and autumn growing season it can take full sun; keep the light plentiful to maintain color and form, and use the soak-and-dry principle. In summer heat it enters dormancy; provide appropriate shade and water control, avoid scorching sun and rain, as water accumulation causes leggy growth. During the growing season water on the soak-and-dry principle, while in winter basically cutting off water is enough for it to overwinter safely.

How Blue Bird propagates:

1. Leaf-cutting propagation: take healthy leaves; after air-drying naturally, young plants grow on their own.

2. Beheading for pups: after beheading you can insert the cutting, and after beheading wait for small pups to burst out.

8. Blue Moon

Blue Moon is a succulent in the Asteraceae family, Senecio genus, also known as Mei Kong Mou or Green Eye. Blue Moon's leaves are slender strips, slightly curved, and because they resemble a curved crescent moon, it got its name. Blue Moon's leaf color is normally green, turning a beautiful blue when light is plentiful. It easily grows side shoots at the base and clusters readily.

How to care for Blue Moon:

Blue Moon likes a light-loving, dry growing environment, with an optimal growing temperature of 10-25°C. Above 10°C in winter it also grows normally; you can use the soak-and-dry principle. Below 5°C in winter, gradually reduce water until cutting it off, and keep the potting soil dry to prevent freezing. In summer heat pay attention to water control; as it enters dormancy, Blue Moon's leaves will close up. Note especially that Blue Moon's root system is particularly strong and it grows very fast, so it is best to plant it in a relatively large pot.

How Blue Moon propagates:

1. Beheading propagation: after beheading, air-dry naturally, then insert as a cutting and wait for it to root and establish on its own; at the beheaded site wait for pups to burst out.

9. Fiona

Fiona is a succulent in the Crassulaceae family, Echeveria genus; its leaves are arranged tightly in a rosette, and when light is plentiful the leaves turn purple or light purple.

How to care for Fiona:

Fiona likes a sunny growing environment; it is drought-tolerant and tolerates partial shade, but is not cold-tolerant. Its optimal growing temperature is 15-25°C; spring and autumn are its growing seasons. Use the soak-and-dry principle and give full sun to keep light plentiful and maintain form and color. Above 35°C in summer heat it enters dormancy; provide appropriate shade, water control and ventilation, and avoid scorching sun and rain, which cause high-temperature rot. Below 5°C in winter, gradually reduce water, and below 0°C cut off water and keep the potting soil dry to prevent freezing.

How Fiona propagates:

1. Division propagation: Little Blue Coat clusters easily; carefully separate the roots and plant the divisions separately.

2. Stem-cutting propagation: take healthy stems, let the wounds air-dry naturally, insert them into the medium and wait for them to root and establish.

10. Blue Dedlyn

Blue Dedlyn is a cross in the Crassulaceae family between the Pachyphytum genus and the Echeveria genus, also known as Grey-Blue Wonder Lotus; it blooms in summer. The slightly flattened cylindrical leaves are arranged in a rosette, the leaf color is grey-green with a layer of frosty powder, looking overall grey-blue, and after exposure to light the leaf tips turn red.

How to care for Blue Dedlyn:

Blue Dedlyn likes a cool, dry, sunny growing environment; choose a sandy soil with good air permeability and drainage. During the spring and autumn growing season, keep light plentiful to maintain form and color and prevent leggy growth, and water using the soak-and-dry principle. The more plentiful the light and the greater the temperature difference, the more beautiful its colored-up state. Blue Dedlyn itself holds a lot of water, so when summer heat exceeds 35°C or winter lows exceed 5°C, reduce the amount of watering to prevent high-temperature rot and low-temperature cold damage. Normally pay special attention to trimming the dead leaves at the bottom to avoid bacterial growth.

How Blue Dedlyn propagates:

1. Leaf-cutting propagation: take healthy, plump leaves; after the wounds air-dry, young plants grow on their own (high success rate).

2. Side-shoot propagation: it clusters easily and readily grows side shoots; air-dry the wounds and insert as cuttings, waiting for them to root and establish.

3. Beheading for pups: after beheading, wait for pups to burst out; the head can be inserted as a cutting.

11. Blue Ji Lotus

Blue Ji Lotus, also called Ruo Tao, is a variety obtained by crossing Ji Lotus and Pachyveria glauca; it clusters easily, and its thick, spoon-shaped leaves have a flat upper surface and a protruding, rounded lower surface: the leaf color is blue-white or green-white, and the leaf tips are sharply pointed and easily sunburn red. After 3-4 years of cultivation it produces slightly yellow flowers with red tips.

How to care for it:

It likes a sunny, cool, dry environment; it is semi shade-tolerant, individually prone to waterlogging, and dislikes muggy humidity. A winter-growing type, it enters dormancy in summer heat and needs shading, ventilation and water control. Above 5°C in winter it can be managed normally without deliberately controlling water.

Propagation methods

Commonly propagated by cuttings or by division, that is, breaking off the small plantlets sprouting at the stem base and planting them directly in a pot. Done in spring and summer. Both stem cuttings and leaf cuttings work.

12. Blue Surprise

Blue Surprise, Echeveria "Blue Surprise", is a succulent in the Crassulaceae family, Echeveria genus, a horticultural hybrid. Its leaves are round-spoon-shaped with leaf tips; with proper care the leaves stack layer upon layer like a lotus, and the leaf color runs from light blue to light purple, so some people jokingly say it should be called Purple Surprise.

How to care for it

It needs plenty of sunlight. But not very strong light; avoid direct strong light, otherwise it is also very bad for the succulent. The place where the succulent is placed must have light, so the succulent can grow better. The soil must be loose and able to drain.

How Blue Surprise propagates:

It can be propagated by stem cuttings or leaf cuttings. Because Blue Surprise is a hybrid, seeds set from self-pollination are not necessarily Blue Surprise, so it cannot reproduce offspring from seed and can only be propagated vegetatively.

13. Thin-leaf Blue Bird

Mexican Blue Bird (Echeveria desmetiana[1]), also known as Thin-leaf Blue Bird, is a succulent plant in the Crassulaceae family, Echeveria genus. It is characterized by pale blue verging on white, nearly triangular leaves covered with a natural white frost; the leaves are blue-green with red, powdery leaf tips, and the flower shape is compact and very beautiful.

How to care for it

In spring it suits being placed on an east-, south- or west-facing balcony. In spring it should be placed on a windowsill with light. After temperatures rise, it begins to resume growth, and you can gradually increase the amount of watering so the potting soil is moist but on the dry side; by no means let the soil get too wet, and it is best to water after the soil has dried out. Ensure plenty of light. During the peak growing season, note that you can fertilize lightly. On rainier days reduce the frequency of watering. In summer it suits being placed on an east-, south- or west-facing balcony. The jewel plant tolerates high heat and strong sun. But if the light is too strong the leaves easily age.

In autumn it suits being placed on an east-, south- or west-facing balcony. In autumn it should be placed in a spot with plenty of light but no rain. In winter it suits being placed on an east-, south- or west-facing balcony. The jewel plant is not cold-tolerant; in winter the temperature inside the balcony should be kept above 5°C.

14. Blue Elf

The Blue Apple succulent plant usually has a rosette form and easily grows new branches from the lower part of the stem, forming a clustering state and gradually becoming an old stem. Its leaf color is fairly rich, changing with the seasons and temperature differences: there are blue-green, purple, beautiful jelly colors, and so on; the leaf ends have peach-red, pink, or rose-red color halos, and the old leaves have large areas of red blush on both the upper and lower surfaces. When colored up it turns an even more intense and intoxicating red, and the leaf surface carries a white powder.

How to care for it

In the spring and autumn growing season, Blue Apple can be watered generously; when the potting soil is about 70-80% dry you can water it thoroughly, but avoid long-term complete drying. In the rainy season avoid prolonged rain to prevent water accumulation and leaf rot. In summer pay attention to shading, with a small amount of direct light, so the plant does not grow leggy or flatten out like a big pancake; control water and, after the potting soil dries out, water just a small amount along the edge of the pot; strengthen ventilation; in summer avoid rain, overhead watering, and long-term damp potting soil.

How Blue Apple propagates

Blue Apple can be propagated using leaves, or you can choose its side shoots for stem cuttings.

15. Blue-Pink Terrace

The leaves are oblong, and the leaf color runs from light blue to light white: new leaves are lighter and old leaves darker. Under strong light and a large day-night temperature difference, or during low winter temperatures, the leaf color gradually turns white and the leaf tips turn red; in weak light the leaf color is light blue, and the leaves become narrow and long, and also very thin. The leaf surface is covered with white powder, and on old leaves the white powder falls off to leave a smooth surface. It blooms from summer to autumn, with a spike inflorescence that can reach more than 20 cm in length, bearing orange inverted-bell-shaped flowers.

How to care for it

Blue-Pink Terrace needs ample sunlight for the leaf color to be vivid, the form to be tighter and more beautiful, and the leaves to be thicker. In winter, if the temperature can stay above 0°C, you can give water; below 0°C you should cut off water, otherwise it easily suffers cold damage.

Propagation methods

Propagation uses stem cuttings and leaf cuttings, and can be done year-round.

16. Blue Light

Blue Light, Echeveria Blue light, is a succulent in the Crassulaceae family, Echeveria genus; one of its parents is believed to be Echeveria cante, and the other is unknown. Blue Light is a large variety; the plant is rosette-shaped and can reach more than 20 cm. The leaves are long-ovate and thin, with the leaf front tapering to a point; the leaf tips, leaf edges and leaf fronts easily take on red, and the leaves are powder-blue. Coated in powder. When Blue Light colors up, the leaves are white with blue showing through and the leaf edges take on red, quite ethereal.

How to care for it

In the spring and autumn growing season it can be watered generously; when the potting soil is about 70-80% dry you can water it thoroughly, but avoid long-term complete drying. In the rainy season avoid prolonged rain to prevent water accumulation and leaf rot. Blue Light is not hard to get through summer; in summer pay attention to appropriate shading, ventilation and water control, and avoid a muggy environment and long-term damp potting soil. For planting Blue Light, choose a loose, air-permeable medium, such as peat/coco coir and granular soil mixed in roughly equal proportions.

Blue Light propagation

You can choose leaf cuttings or stem cuttings; thin leaves are harder to sprout from leaf cuttings, so it is recommended to do it in spring and autumn.

Alright, we've finally finished taking stock of the 16 blue-toned succulents. It's not easy for you to have read this far!!! Come leave a comment and praise yourself!!!

Feel free to add other blue-toned succulents!!

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