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Echeveria Rainbow: 5 Caring Tips & 3 Propagating Methods

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Echeveria Rainbow is nearly indestructible that almost anyone can grow. This dwarf plant, with its charming tight rosette pattern and leaf colors changing with the season, is a great addition to your houseplant collection. 

For seasoned gardeners or gardening rookies alike, here are all things you should know to grow and care for this succulent!

Echeveria Rainbow
Echeveria Rainbow via Reddit

What Is Echeveria Rainbow?

Quick facts

Botanical NameEcheveria Rainbow
Common NameEcheveria Rainbow
FamilyCrassulaceae
Native AreaCentral America, Mexico, South America
Plant TypeSucculent
Mature Size 6” (15cm) in diameter
Sun ExposureFull to partial direct sunlight
SoilWell-draining, pH 5.5-6.0
HardinessUSDA hardiness zone 9a to 11b: from 6.7 °C (20°F) to +10°C (50°F)

Habitats

Echeveria Rainbow is an appealing succulent variegated form of Echeveria’ Perle Von Nürnberg. It belongs to the Crassulaceae family that is native to parts of Central America, South America, and Mexico.

This succulent is a slow-growing, low-maintenance, and hardy plant in general. It can happily survive multiple years following its maturity even when you neglect them pretty often. However, due to the frost-tender nature, you’d better tend it as an indoor plant in cold, wintery areas. 

Characteristics

The Rainbow forms large rosettes of thick, juicy leaves that can grow up to 6” (5cm) in diameter when it reaches maturity. It is considered one of the most beautiful of Echeveria’s hybrids.

The leaves are highly valued for their striking pattern, with the center developing a soft green and melting into a light pink shade. Echeveria Rainbow is a favorite ornamental plant for many house plant enthusiasts with unique leaf colors and patterns. 

Echeveria Rainbow 2
Echeveria Rainbow via Reddit

These colorful leaves change in color when the temperature changes. They are lighter in color when the temperature is high while getting darker with cold temperatures. Due to this color transformation, this succulent is named “Rainbow”.

This Echeveria hybrid blooms with clusters of fragrance-free bell-shaped flowers on stalks. These magnificent shows of blooms add more beauty to the plant. 

5 Essential Things For Better Echeveria Rainbow Growth & Caring 

1. Light 

All Echeverias need a large amount of sunlight to thrive, and this Rainbow is no exception. It is advised to place your Rainbow in full to partial sun for 4-6 hours daily. 

Without enough sunlight, you will notice the plant starts to elongate to reach out towards the light direction. The ideal place to position your indoor plants is next to the east or west-facing window. If there’s not enough light, you may want to invest in an indoor grow-light. 

Echeveria Rainbow 3
Echeveria Rainbow via Reddit

2. Soil

As this plant is quite prone to root rot, make sure you grow your Rainbow in a well-draining, porous medium. The mixture of clay, foam, and pumice can help to promote drainage and thus, reduce the risk of root rotting. The ideal pH level should be between 5.5-6 or slightly acidic. 

In addition, the pot or container used should have drainage holes for the water to exit. If the Rainbow sits in the water for too long, it’ll rot and die. 

3. Watering

Do not overwater Echeverias Rainbow, or it will die on you. Instead, you can keep your succulents happy by using the soak and dry watering technique. First, soak or saturate the soil with water. Then, allow the soil to dry almost completely before the next watering.

The soil should never be soggy or too dry: you should keep it moist evenly for the best growth of your plant. If you overwater the plant, it will rot and perish. 

Echeverias Rainbow has different requirements for water depending on the season. It would help if you watered it more frequently in summer and spring, which is its vegetative period. 

We recommend giving this succulent a good shower once a week in these seasons (yet don’t forget to make sure the soil dries entirely before watering). 

In the winter months – aka the dormancy period, cut down on your watering schedule. You just need enough to prevent your baby from developing wrinkled leaves due to the lack of water. 

4. Temperature and humidity

Echeverias Rainbow is not very cold hardy, which means cold temperatures and cold drafts are their one of its worst enemies. Its preferred hardiness zones are 9a-11b – 6.7 °C (20 F) to +10°C (50°F). If you live anywhere colder, it’s best to grow them indoors to avoid intolerable freezing. 

Like other Echeverias varieties, this plant is susceptible to root rot if there’s too much humidity. Therefore, you’d better grow them in a dry place and avoid humid areas such as the laundry room or bathroom. 

5. Fertilizer

This plant is quite easy-going when it comes to fertilizing requirements. You only need occasional fertilization to keep it happy and healthy. If you want to boost its growth, fertilize your tree only during active growing seasons – spring and summer months.

You should use fertilizers specifically made for succulents or cacti or any balanced 20-20-20 fertilizer with ¼ strength. For young succulents, you need to reduce the nitrogen content in the fertilizer. 

However, there is no need to feed your succulent with nutrients in the winter months because your tree is not actively growing. 

3 Methods To Propagate Echeveria Rainbow

Rainbow propagates in multiple ways through offsets, leaves, or stem cuttings.

1. Propagate Echeveria Rainbow with offsets

One of the easiest ways to propagate Rainbow is using the offsets produced from the main stem. The chance of offsets growing into a healthy and independent plant is slightly higher than other methods. 

Gently detach the small rosette from the mother plant and place it in a new pot. A mix of cactus soil with sand will treat the young plant right for its development. 

2. Propagate Echeveria Rainbow with leaves

Pick out a healthy leaf and carefully wiggle it from side to side until it detaches from the stem. Make sure it has no part left on the stem for successful propagation. Lay it down on a clean tray and wait a few days for it to callus. 

Then, transition the new plant into a pot filled with well-drained soil and place it in a bright spot. Please avoid direct sunlight for the young succulent to grow well. 

3. Propagate Echeveria Rainbow with stem cuttings

A stem cutting can develop into a new plant. This method of propagation is preferable if your succulents become leggy. After taking the cutting, let’s wait for a few days for it to callus before placing it into a pot of new well-drained soil. 

Common Pests And Diseases On Echeveria Rainbow

This Echeveria is almost trouble-free to care for as long as you provide it with sufficient sunlight, well-drained soil, and occasional watering.

In addition, keep in mind to remove all the dead leaves that gather at the base of the plant. They can offer a favorable environment for fungus and insect pests. 

The most common problem that you may encounter is the attack of mealybugs.  

Succulent mealybugs destroy your plant by sucking the juice out of it. They resemble a white cottony, waxy substance that lurks between leaves, deep in rosettes. This makes it hard to spot these critters if you don’t carefully inspect the plant. 

How to prevent mealybugs

To prevent mealybugs, you should spray the water to the center of the succulent and leaf axils to remove any elusive bugs. Also, maintaining good air circulation will help prevent the settlements of these airborne critters onto your tree. 

How to treat mealybugs

Once you spot the mealybugs, the first thing you should do is to separate the infected plants from healthy ones. This will prevent contagion on a larger scale. 

  • Isopropyl alcohol 75%: This is an effective and cheap way to get rid of the infestation. Spray alcohol 75% onto your succulent and wait for it to evaporate completely. Give a spray each week on the infected plant until you see no sign of bugs. 
  • Neem oil: Create a mixture of neem oil (5%) with water and a bit of soap. Then, spray the affected succulent. While neem oil is quite a safe insecticide for your plant, only use a diluting solution, or you’ll risk burning the succulent. 

Note: After spraying either alcohol or neem oil onto the Rainbow, it pays to keep the plant away from the direct sunlight for a couple of days. Exposure to the sun’s heat is likely to leave it with sunburn and watermarks. 


Conclusion

Echeveria Rainbow is a highly adaptable plant, and you can have one to adorn your living space with little effort and care. Even with occasional neglect, this succulent can survive happily. 

That’s said, it’s worth paying your attention to basic knowledge about this cute guy to ensure his well-being. We bet that even those who are clumsy about gardening can easily overcome their plant-killing tendencies growing this plant. 

If you have any questions about this topic, feel free to leave us a comment in the section below!