Grow and Care for Dudleya

Grow Dudleya with sharp drainage and a crown that sheds water. Summer is a dry rest. Liveforever is the common name — not a weekly indoor Echeveria hose.

Sharp drainage, an angled crown, and a dry summer rest

Plant at an angle so water drains off the leaves, and skip overhead irrigation in summer. [1] Gravel around the crown keeps the stem dry; bark holds wet against it. [2]

Water in the cool season, not on a weekly hose

These plants grow in the cool, wet months and rest in summer. In San Diego, Master Gardeners withhold water from May through August. [3] A dry summer rest is the usual rule; dry roots fail less often than a soggy crown. [4]

1. In fall through spring, water deeply only after the mix has dried, then let it dry again.
2. Once the plant is established on the coast, rainfall and fog are often enough. Skip extra water in a normal summer.
3. If you water at all in heat, wet the soil below the foliage — not the rosette.

Plant, pot, or grow from a cutting

• Set a nursery plant on a slope, tipped so water runs off — Planting Dudleya.
• Use a gritty mix in a pot that drains — Dudleya in Containers.
• Separate an offset, or sow seed — Propagating Dudleya.

If the crown stays wet in winter, tip the next plant on a slope — do not add a weekly hose.