Solitary blue-green Echeveria to 8-20 inches from central Mexico. Very attractive. Leaves are rigid and somewhat brittle, with a fold down the middle that gives them a keel. Leaves are edged with red, especially in the sun. Flowers are red or coral, but appear pink because of the powdery bloom, and orange-red or brownish yellow on the inside. Selected cultivars are available in cultivation, including the oversized "Fire and Ice".

Historically combined with and confused with E. cante, a smaller powder-blue plant with different shaped leaves which was named a distinct species in 1997. The plant distributed by the ISI in 1958 as E. subrigida was what we now know as E. cante. E. subrigida was originally credited as a parent of glaucous hybrid cultivars like "Afterglow" but that plant was what we now know as E. cante. E. subrigida absorbed the former E. palmeri, which was distinguished based on its greener color until it was found that the different amount of glaucous powder on the leaves was due to differences in exposure.

Found in several states in Mexico: Guanajuato, Hidalgo, Mexico, Querétaro, Michoacán, San Luis Potosí.

Provide excellent drainage and strong light for best form and color. Larger forms enjoy overpotting and can fill 10 inch or larger containers. Do not allow water to collect in the spoon-shaped leaves in order to avoid crown (stem) rot. This may require overhead protection of mature plants in winter-rainfall climates. Younger plants are less vulnerable to this phenomenon, but water carefully regardless.

Reply to this comment