Unpopular opinion: That new hybrid succulent everyone loves is actually a finicky nightmare to keep alive

I read a 2023 study from the Royal Botanic Gardens that said these echeveria crosses drop leaves at 40% higher rates than standard varieties, so why are we acting like they're beginner friendly?

3 comments

3 Comments

rodriguez.diana29d ago

WAIT, FORTY PERCENT higher leaf drop?? You're kidding me. I KILLED two of those pinkish "Moonglow" hybrids last winter and thought it was just me being clumsy. They literally lost leaves if I looked at them wrong. Now I gotta go find that study so I can show my plant club because they SWEAR these things are easy. Seriously, I stuck with my basic old echeveria elegans and it's basically unkillable compared to those drama queens.

xena37329d ago

oh man I gotta disagree with you @rodriguez.diana, those moonglow hybrids just need more warmth and less water in winter, my collection did fine with a little extra care and they're way more colorful than the basic elegans.

loganl2214d ago

Rodriguez.diana, since you mentioned those pinkish Moonglow hybrids were the problem ones, was it the same for the green and blue colored crosses too, or did you find one color did better than the others? I've been wondering if the leaf drop issue is worse with the varieties that have more pink or purple tones, because I've got a friend who swears her all-green hybrid is rock solid while my pink one acts like a diva. I'd be curious to know if the pigment load is making them weaker, or if that's just coincidence.