What comes to your mind when you think of Echeveria? You will most likely envision a hardy desert plant that requires intense bright sunlight to survive. While most succulents thrive in relatively warmer climatic conditions, they still need protection from blasting sunlight and extremely high temperatures. Echeveria, like other succulents, is mostly from the semi-desert environment, which receives plenty of rainfall and moderate sunlight.
So, does Echeveria need direct sunlight? The simple answer is “no.” There are over 150 different types of Echeveria species, and most of them can tolerate full sunlight, but it doesn’t mean they are happy. Typically, Echeveria requires approximately four to six hours of bright but indirect sunlight to thrive. Keep them out of direct sunlight to avoid causing sunburns on the plant’s leaves. You should also remember that the plant’s age and size will determine its light requirements. When moving them outdoors after winter, be sure to slowly acclimatize them to direct sunlight to keep them alive.
This blog post discusses everything you need to know about Echeveria’s light requirements and how to keep your plant happy in different light conditions. Keep reading to learn more.
How Many Hours of Sunlight Does Echeveria Need?
Generally, Echeveria requires four to six hours of sunlight exposure to keep it happy. This succulent loves being in a bright and sunny spot.
Echeveria plants that don’t receive enough sunlight tend to exhibit various problems such as etiolation and elongation.
A plant experiencing etiolation tends to stretch in the direction of light. So, if you discover your Echeveria is stretching towards the direction of light, it means your plant isn’t receiving enough light.
Etiolation leads to weak stems, multicolored leaves, and stunted growth. The plant will also lose its vibrant pigmentation and become pale or revert to a relatively dull green color.
However, an Echeveria plant that receives plenty of sunlight will demonstrate its true beauty by showcasing the full range of its vibrant colors and blooming maximally.
Since your Echeveria requires at least four hours of bright light to thrive, consider keeping it near a south-facing window if you have grown it indoors. If you have a relatively sunny room, be sure to keep it there.
Rotate your plant several times a day keep its leaves even. If you allow one side to receive too much light than the other, you may start to notice etiolation on the side that doesn’t receive enough sunlight.
If your region doesn’t receive plenty of natural sunlight, don’t be afraid to use artificial grow lights to keep your plant happy. Keep the lights on for at least eight hours a day before switching them off to allow your plant to rest.
Does Echeveria Need Direct Sunlight or Full Sun to Thrive?
Generally, succulents tend to thrive with a lot of sunlight exposure. Echeveria is no different, but it still requires proper protection from direct sunlight or intense heat. Too much sunlight can cause severe damage to your plant, leading to permanent scarring.
The plant can literally fry to death when left in full sunlight for prolonged hours without proper protection in extreme conditions.
To prevent sunburn and scarring, ensure you slowly introduce your Echeveria to sunlight before full exposure. You can achieve this by giving it partial shade at the beginning and gradually increasing the number of hours you expose the plant to direct sunlight until it is fully acclimatized to the heat.
For better results, start by exposing your plant to the morning sun and slowly work your way to the intense afternoon sun. Alternatively, put the plant under shade when first exposing it to direct sunlight. From there, increase the exposure gradually to prevent damaging the plant foliage.
Newly propagated Echeveria is more susceptible to sunburn, but mature plants can withstand the intense heat for some time before they start showing signs of damage. Indoor Echeveria plants are also more vulnerable to sunburn and damage.
When it is time to move the plants outdoors, do it gradually so that they get plenty of time to be accustomed to the intense heat. Newly propagated plants must stay strictly under shade. A simple mistake and you lose them.
What Is the Best Temperature for Echeveria?
Unlike other succulents, Echeveria can survive pretty well in quite a wide range of temperatures. Most Echeveria species will thrive in a relatively warm and dry climate. These plants prefer about ten degrees Celsius difference between the day and night temperatures.
During winter, the plant will be happy in cool conditions of about 15 degrees Celsius during the day and five degrees Celsius during the night.
During summer, these succulents tend to enjoy relatively higher temperatures. But it is always good to maintain the temperature at approximately 30 degrees Celsius. Anything beyond that becomes dangerous and can cause severe damage to your plant.
Other than sunburn, you need to keep in mind that most plants shut down and stop respiring when temperatures are too high. They will only allow their stomata to open and breathe again when the temperature drops.
Echeveria plants have developed various strategies, such as a waxy coating on the leaves to prevent too much water loss. So, exposing the plant to extremely high temperatures can interfere with its survival mechanism.
Can Echeveria Get Too Much Sunlight?
The simple answer here is “yes.” Even though Echeveria is a succulent, it doesn’t mean that it can withstand any amount of sun exposure. When the sun exposure is too much, your plant will start showing signs of damage and sunburn.
Keep in mind that sunburn usually happens gradually. The first sign of sunburn is the existence of brown spots on some sections of your plant leaves. When recognized earlier, sunburn can be remedied to avoid further damage to the plant.
The only thing you need to do is move your Echeveria to a relatively shadier area or position it next to taller plants for protection from direct sunlight.
If you leave the plant unattended even after noticing signs of sunburn, some Echeveria species will toughen up and survive, but others will eventually succumb. If you don’t want to take any chances with your plant, be sure to provide it with sufficient protection from direct sunlight.
What Can You Do to Keep Your Echeveria Alive During Prolonged Heat Waves?
With the climate changing, weather extremes are becoming normal. During winter, the cold will be extreme, and the heat will also be extreme during summer.
If you live in an area that experienced prolonged heat waves, you must be worried about your Echeveria. While extremely high temperatures that last for days or weeks can be extremely challenging for plants that love a lot of moisture, they can also affect succulents such as Echeveria.
The prolonged heatwaves can be damaging to your Echeveria, making it almost impossible for the plant to bounce back from the stress and damage.
Apart from providing your plant with shade, be sure to provide sufficient humidity. Although Echeveria doesn’t like sitting in water for prolonged hours or being overwatered, you need to find ways of keeping it hydrated amid prolonged heatwaves.
Failing to water your plant during periods of prolonged heatwaves can be catastrophic. Some hardier and more mature Echeveria species can sustain the heatwave, but the fragile species won’t survive.
Check your potting mix moisture regularly to feel if it is dry. If the soil feels any dry, water your plant and give it a few days before checking again.
While watering, keep adding water to the growing container until it starts to seep out from the bottom of the container. Generally, you should water your Echeveria every five or six days during a heatwave.
Does Sunlight Exposure Affect Flowering?
You need to keep in mind that the blooming cycle in Echeveria is somehow unstoppable unless you deny your plant essential nutrients. But as long as your Echeveria has the right conditions, it will always flower.
Just ensure the plant receives enough light (length and intensity), a well-draining potting mix, and enough watering.
In this case, enough light exposure doesn’t mean exposure to full sun. You still need to protect it from the intense heat so that flowers don’t wither and fall off.
Echeveria usually starts flowering at the end of summer, although some species will flower during spring.
The blooms last a few weeks and open in quick succession. Some flowers may pollinate and produce seeds that you can use to start new plants. You can also propagate new plants from the stalks of the flowers.
Final Thoughts
Growing Echeveria can be so fulfilling because of the potential benefits that you will enjoy along the way. However, you need to learn how to take care of your plant to keep it happy.
Although these plants are succulents and have adapted to growing in relatively hot climatic conditions, they don’t love being exposed to full sun. Exposure to full direct sunlight can result in irreversible damage and even death.
Keep your Echeveria in a spot that receives plenty of bright but indirect sunlight, and it will remain healthy. If you must take it outdoors during summer, introduce it to the sunlight gradually.
Last update on 2023-10-05 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
