How To Grow Echeveria Outdoors

Plant your Echeveria in full sun. If your area experiences summer temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, afternoon shade during the hottest days will keep your plants from burning.

Water only when the soil is dry. During hot weather, this can be as often as every other day, so check daily by pushing your finger 1 inch deep into the soil.

Fertilize one or two times per year, in early spring and late summer. Use an all-purpose liquid plant fertilizer, and dilute to half strength. Echeverias do not require much fertilizer and grow in poor soil in their native habitats.

Remove leaves that have died along the base of the plant. These can be very gently twisted from the plant.

Grow your Echeverias in very well drained soil. Too much moisture will cause the plant to rot. Soil mixtures made for cactus or succulents are a good choice, or mix half potting mix that does not contain additional fertilizer with half small gravel.

Inspect your plants for insect pests frequently. Aphids, which look like small green or black dots, will huddle in thick clusters on the flowers. Another common pest is mealy bugs, which look like little spots of cotton stuck in between the leaves or near the plant's base. Both of these can be eliminated with pesticide spray.

Move your plants indoors when it gets cold, if you live in an area with winters below freezing. Echeverias can tolerate a brief, light frost, but will die if exposed to severe cold. Place your plants in a brightly lit window, and be sure not to water more often than the soil dries out.

Clip off the spent flower stalks after the flowers have died. Echeverias flower mostly in the spring, producing nodding stalks of small, brightly colored flowers in pink, orange or yellow.