Acquiring Rare Echeverias: Share Your Plants and Resources

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

Hey Folks,

So after our previous discussion regarding how far we would go for these plants, I just thought it would be fun to bring up a couple of drool worthy Echeveria breeds that are on the top of my wishlist, but yet ever so rare, limited and elusive that they don't even appear on ebay.

The top of my list are certain breeds of Cuspidatas and Agavodies. I've briefly seen Howard posting a couple of his prized Agavodies, and they simply look divine! Especially the really crimson colored Frank Reinelt - I saw one posting of a seedling in Ebay, and I'm really reluctant to buy it due to its authenticity.

Maybe you guys can enlighten me where these rarer species might be available, or if you have stumbled any during C&S shows in your region, I'll be really happy if you can buy the plant on my behalf and ship it to me, all cost on me.

Enjoy these beauties -

Echeveria Cuspidata Var. Assorted

Echeveria Cuspidata Var. (unknown - name in Japanese)

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Echeveria Agavodies Var. Ebony (Hybrid)

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Echeveria Agavodies Var. (Either Ebony/ Romeo)

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Echeveria Agavdoies Var. Ebony

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Echeveria Cuspidata Var Menchaca (This is my top favorite)

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Echeveria Cuspidata var. Menchaca Seedling

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Three Types of Echeveria Cuspidatas

Of course not forgetting Echeveria Mexican Giant and Lauii

Lastly, this Echeveria highly resembles Harry's Lauii, and I made a few comparison to mine, my plant seem to have rounder and stouter leaves. Maybe perhaps mine is still a baby plant or his might be a lauii hybrid x John Catlin.

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Please share all your Echeveria Oddities and Beauties, I love them all. I find this pictorial web link particularly helpful in my Echeveria ID-ings and they seem pretty extensive and accurate about their listings.

Cheers, Bernard

Featured Answer

andy_e

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

Bernard thank you for the link! That's definitely the same plant, although a Google search of the name seems to turn up another plant already known by that name. So perhaps the name is suspect, but at least I know the plant is out there in case I lose the one I have!

All my C&S are outdoors 365 days a year. Rot can be a problem due to our cold, wet winters. As a newbie I'd keep my plants sheltered from the rain but continued to water them sparingly through the winter. I lost a lot that way, so I started hardening them off in the fall and leaving them dry all winter. That worked much better, but I'd still lose a few each year and in hindsight I think it weakened the plants. Now I just leave them out in the open to get rained on and they do great.

If you turn on private messaging in your profile, I'll shoot you a message about sharing offsets (or you can message me). I'm not into selling plants but I'd consider trading if I have extras.

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Comments (37)

bikerdoc5968 Z6 SE MI
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I would appear to be Echeveria cuspidata v 'Parrasana' which may be the same/similar to Echeveria parrasensis, just a difference in spelling? Then what you are calling Echeveria cuspidata may also be a synonym for E. parrasensis. Growing conditions can change the appearance of these plants as we all know too well: E. 'Black Prince' can look intensely "black' with the summer sun and become almost green with envy during winter's gray skies.

This translation might be helpful... then maybe not

Yes, wouldn't mind acquiring pics 2, 3, 4, 6 and 9.
andy_e
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I don't focus on rare plants but I have a few interesting ones.

I'm not convinced this is an Echeveria though it was labeled as one. I bought it because I'd never seen anything like it, nor have I since. The leaves are silvery gray and they sparkle in the sun. No one has been able to identify it. This is an old pic - the plant is very susceptible to fungus in the winter so I've since lost all of it except for one small offset. I'm not trying to grow that in gritty mix. Wish me luck...

The next one is E. agavoides 'Ebony'. It took a long time to find a nursery that was selling any because it's apparently difficult to propagate. They rarely offset and I'm told that leaf propagation has a low success rate (you won't see me tearing my plants apart to test that!). I bought two plants years ago and they got huge, then both eventually succumbed to crown rot. Probably my fault for not repotting them more often. Fortunately I got a few offsets prior to that. Here's one of the big ones before it croaked. This one had just been transplanted at the time of the photo and doesn't show how black it can get in full sun. For that, see the next pic.

Here's an 'Ebony' offset I have planted in the ground in full sun.

Last one is a local hybrid, E. agavoides 'Victor Reiter'. Reiter was an avid gardener who was involved with the SF Botanical Garden, which is where I bought this plant. It's big (that pot is 8") and colors up nicely with sun and cool temps.
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bernardyjh
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Thanks for the ID Harry!

On the topic of Black Princes - I was fascinated by Laurent's variegated Beauties as well, and apparently variegation on Echeverias seems to be an exquisite rarity too. They seem to have a different name when it shows variegation - Bess Bates

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Here's a comparison of 2 of Diane's Echeveria Lauii in a cacti forum, one with rounder and more stouter leaves like mine, and yours below, with sharper and narrower shaped leaves.

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Andy - I LOVE ALL your Echeverias, especially your baby E. Agavoides Ebony. They look spectacular, especially with the yellow/red coloration.

I believe your first Echeveria is a Rodolfi, it has a metallic sheen coloration to its leaves and they are nice and sharp like the shape of a Black Knight.

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I'm sorry to hear you had lost most of your plants to rot. Do most of your plants grow outdoors?

I love all the Agavodies and cuspidata breeds, so jealous that your zone gets to see these echeveria more commonly, due to geographical reasons near Meixco. These plants are so rare compared to the East Coast.

When your Agavodies have more babies, could I buy some of the offsets from you?

Bernard
Laurent - French Riviera (zone 9a)
8 years ago
Many variegated forms don't have a different name. Bess Bates has a different name because the person who selected it, officialy published a description and a new name. It's a valid name, not a commercial name.

I think I have between 15 and 20 different variegated echeverias, I will post
photos of the biggest ones (I receive tiny cuttings and it takes 3 to 5
years to get pretty plants).
bernardyjh
Original Author
8 years ago
Laurent! I'm pleasantly surprise to hear your input.

I'm obsessed with all your plants! Do you mind sharing where you get your cuttings from, or have any advise to a new grower like me to acquire variegated breeds of echeverias?

I've tried ebay, and this particular German seller has the most varieties, but besides that, I don't have much other resources.
Laurent - French Riviera (zone 9a)
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Bernard, Ebay is the best way to get variegated echeverias as there is no specialized nursery in the US and Europe. There are specialized nurseries in Korea that sell plants on ebay. Most of my plants come from ebay auctions. I got a few of them from other private collectors (exchanges of cuttings of equivalent rarity is the rule).

The variegated echeverias are more expensive because they are very slow-growing, fragile and hard to propagate. Some of them (not all) have an unstable variegation that must be controlled (like Bess Bates). And they don't grow well indoors (a good climate or a greenhouse are needed).
In addition, due to the rarity of the plants, the sales or the exchanges of cuttings are often done at an international level : that's expensive and sometimes risky with the customs.

I will post nice photos of my entire collection on my Flickr account next october. But I will take a few photos of my prettiest variegated echeverias this week and post them for you here ;)
bernardyjh
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Andy, off course! I knew that plant, because one of the ebay sellers listing rarer echeveria plants has on exactly like yours, and I remember researching it once before.

I keep forgetting you guys live in the west coast, I can never imagine my plants surviving a single day beyond the windows of my apartment, let alone a season. I guess that's the beauty of it.

I finally managed to find enable messages!! Just sent you one too.

Bernard
aloebot
8 years ago
I hope a few common ones won't ruin the thread. I'm accumulating more than what I have had in the past hoping to put in ground in group plantings soon.

E. agavoides 'Ebony' and E. agavoides 'Lipstick.

Don't have name.

E. cv. 'Chroma'.

Don't have name.

E. potosina, E. cv. 'Chroma', D.K., E. cv. 'Black Prince', E. pulidonis
rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Bill

Just realized that I had wrong photo...so I am changing this post:

Is this plant (copied your photo) Echeveria cv. 'Chroma'?

I am trying to ID this one:
I see some similarity to your plant; of course the color you get I won't... And this photo is from March, indoors.
What do you think?
Rina
cooliceball
8 years ago
Aloebot it looks like the fourth pic may be a type of blue waves
aloebot
8 years ago
Rina, it looks real similar. The leaf shape and the crease in the leaves are the same. The pattern of variegation is also very similar. Ice, I have a really old Eche. book that has some old cultivars in it. It also looks close to 'Gypsy' and 'Party Dress'. I'll check out 'Blue Waves'!
palmbob
8 years ago
Interesting note about Echeveria Rodolfii… a quick Google search and all the metallic plants I see are photos I took myself of my own plants, all which I acquired as Echeveria metallica… not sure when Daves folks changed the name to Rodolfii but they never approached me about it. All the other photos of E Rodolfii on in the internet look like a different plant. .wonder which is correct.
palmbob
8 years ago
PS those variegated Echeverias are amazing… I have never seen anything like them in person… they must be pretty rare.
andy_e
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Palmbob I guess we have the same plant. :-)

Not sure it's E. metallica either though: http://crassulaceae.net/echeveriamenu/89-photos/943-echeveria-metallica-ph

EDIT: This tissue culture place is selling it as a hybrid called E. 'Metalica'. No info on its origin though. http://ranchotissue.com/product/echeveria-hyb-metalica/

Anyways, back to the thread, didn't mean to derail it!
Laurent - French Riviera (zone 9a)
8 years ago
Bernard, I have posted photos here : http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/3116650/variegated-echeverias-photos
bernardyjh
Original Author
8 years ago
Andy/Bob - I'm pretty sure it's not a Echeveria Metallica, as you can see E. Metallicas have rounder leaves compared to your plant. I'm sorry for the confusion, and thanks for pointing it out Bob, but the guys at Dave's probably came up with the name Rodolfii and all these evay sellers started using that name.

I'm guessing it might be a cross between Bifida x Lutea or perhaps even Bifida x Metallica, not sure if this helps, but I'm unable to find the exact name for it on the Crassulaceae web. Or perhaps even a hybrid name "Phyllis Collis" Cante x Affinis judging from the pictures posted.

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Keve - Blue Waves is a hybrid created by Frank Reinelt in California. They are many more sub-hybrids further created from this plant. According to the official Crassulaceae Site, they are also largely called Blue Curls in the European regions.

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Bill - There is no such thing as common, in fact most of your Echeverias are very uncommon, considering I have never see a single nursery or garden selling Agavodies in the East Coast.

I'm looking at your curly Echeveria and I'm guessing it might be a "Firelight" Hybrid - if you plant blooms, we can confirm it with the flowers.

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Or a Echeveria "Hispali" Hybrid

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Bill/Rina - I'm trying to ID your Echeveria too, and this is the closet I can find on the official Crassulaceae Site - a Hybrid named Gran Daniel, with an unknown parentage apparently.

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Bill - I can't find an ID for your 2nd Echeveria, it could possibly be a Hybrid as well, my guess is Chiclensis x Agavodies.

Bernard
rina_Ontario,Canada 5a
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Bernard
Another good plant detective, lol. Thanks for taking time to post!
Just in case you are referring to my little plant that may or may not be Echeveria cv. Chroma, I am not sure it is as you suggested, e. Gran Daniel. Difficult to judge the size from photos, but my plant is much smaller overall. Rosette is much flatter - more open - I know that may be because of growing conditions. Leaves are quite waxy-shiny, and I don't see the crease on the one you posted. Again, I could be wrong in my observations. And never had flowers yet to help either, got the plant year ago - still very young.
Rina
aztcqn
8 years ago
How does one get plants from Europe? I read that all that"s needed is a phytosanitary certificate for under 12 plants to allow plants through customs....

Is this correct?
cooliceball
8 years ago
Thanks for that info Bernard
bernardyjh
Original Author
8 years ago
Once again, Laurent, your plants are truly spectacular!

I've tried searching Ebay for a while now, when you can find them, its via a seller and they are usually Korean/Japanese Cultivars, you risk paying alot (I've seen one going for Thousands!) and going through customs confiscation, or even the plant not surviving the transit, being much more delicate than regular plants.

For the most parts, Ebay does not even have these plants available due to its rarity, but thanks for sharing your experiences!

Azt - I'll pm you a link that is selling a Lauii on Ebay. You just have to turn on your messaging and drop me a pm. From my experience so far, I bought 2 plants internationally. 1 from Australia and the other from Spain. I only bought 1 plant at a time, so it probably was low risk when going through customs. I'm sure both the sellers are very experience with this portion, so they labelled the package as "Home Decoration" and smack fragile signs all over the box. So far, both plants have reached me on time and in one piece.

If you request a phytosanitary certificate, it usually cost 70-100 dollars and those takes weeks to process before they can ship it out. So not alot of seller do those, but there are some who do. - don't quote me

Hope this answers your question.

Bernard
bernardyjh
Original Author
8 years ago
More Echeverias post that I can stare for hours!

http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/onikuiri_masha/folder/838779.html

http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_7d320b9101010rx5.html

http://doctorflower.tistory.com/entry/Commercial-Name-Rene

https://www.flickr.com/photos/129191601@N06/
aztcqn
8 years ago
That last link has some beauties. I love the mauve pinks in the lineup and of course the light almost white grey blues. Amazed they are grown without marks on the leaves....
:[ Hard to do outdoors.
Laurent - French Riviera (zone 9a)
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Last link, I love the variegated Graptoveria from the 5th photo : https://www.flickr.com/photos/129191601@N06/15949260067/in/dateposted/
bernardyjh
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
On the page of variegated Echeverias.

I found a "Compton Carousel" - Echeveria Imbricata Variegated on ETSY for $40. Any takers?

https://www.etsy.com/listing/221496593/echeveria-imbricata-variegata?ref=shop_home_feat_1

I really should stop online shopping for rarer Echeverias..
Laurent - French Riviera (zone 9a)
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Compton Carousel is not an imbricata

Compton Carousel : http://st.houzz.com/simgs/b3b202e9056dd87e_9-2221/home-design.jpg

imbricata : http://st.houzz.com/simgs/1cc22a58056dd889_9-2231/home-design.jpg
bernardyjh
Original Author
8 years ago
Thanks for the clarification Laurent, I think I was confused reading somewhere that a variegated Imbricata is also known as 'Compton Carousel". Just as how a variegated Black Prince is named as "Bess Bates".
Laurent - French Riviera (zone 9a)
8 years ago
http://www.crassulaceae.ch/de/artikel?akID=48&aaID=3&aiID=C&aID=2318
bernardyjh thanked Laurent - French Riviera (zone 9a)
Katie Percy
8 years ago
Hi all, I'm new to this discussion but have certainly acquired the passion! :) If a newbie is worthy, could I also get the contact info on Echeveria lauii through ebay if you consider it reputable? Looking forward to learning more here and sharing when "the kids" grow up. Katie
bernardyjh
Original Author
8 years ago
Hi Katie, you want to turn on your PM, or you can email me. my user @ gmail
Shannon Bodmer
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Purchased a variegated echeveria rainbow some days ago:)
ealdwood (10a)
8 years ago
Speaking of Korean sellers with echeverias...there is one I found through Instagram. I was so mesmerized by their pics I had to message them. They ship often to buyers in California for $50...and then the photo sanitary cert is additional $10 I think. And ya know, the plant itself can be $50 or more..(like a ton more) or less.

Sigh, so since I'm not experienced I won't risk it.

but here's the blog if anyone's interested (I'm not sure if there are rules against posting sellers...if there are I apologize and let me know and I'll remove it):

http://ksucculents.blogspot.kr/
José Santa Cruz
7 years ago
Still looking for echeveria rainbow, any leads?
hookilau
7 years ago
Not in the US....ebay link to german seller, active
LH CO/FL
7 years ago
Jose, this gentleman has a Rainbow - it's not currently listed on his ebay listings, but he does have one for sale:

l0ublue510 ebay page: http://www.ebay.com/usr/l0ublue510?euid=83ad325136b3400383859875b34d0122&bu=43110408623&cp=1&sojTags=bu=bu
José Santa Cruz
7 years ago
Thanks for the information Hookilau & Leslie. I reached out to l0ublue510 and they are still not for sale. Hoping they will be soon.
Dan Jackson
2 years ago
www.RareEcheveria.com