Echeveria laui Care and Propagation

Taking care of Echeveria laui and propagating it is easy, making it great for beginners. This slow-growing succulent is renowned for its beautiful rosettes that can be white or pink in color. If you want to start growing it in pots, you might want to know how to look after Echeveria laui so that it thrives.

You can care for your Echeveria laui by keeping it in an area where it gets at least six hours of sunlight per day, watering it when the soil feels dry to the touch, and planting it in rich succulent soil. It can be propagated via cuttings or by planting it directly from seeds.

In this article, I’ll explore these and other essential tips to follow when caring for Echeveria laui. I’ll also discuss what you need to know about propagating it, whether you choose to do so from cuttings or planting seeds in the garden.

How To Care for Echeveria laui

Echeveria laui, also known as La Roseta, is a tender plant, but it can handle a wide range of environments. Nonetheless, some special care is required to maintain its beautiful appearance.

Let’s discuss some important tips to ensure you give your pretty succulent the conditions it requires to grow healthy.

Give Echeveria laui at Least Six Hours of Light

As a succulent, Echeveria laui needs to be placed in an area where it will get enough sunlight, especially since it hails from the desert regions of North and Central America.

You should plant your La Roseta in an area of the home or garden where it will get at least six hours of sunlight every day. It will grow well in areas where it gets direct sunlight.

When your plant gets enough sunlight, it will display a gorgeous red tinge on its leaves which enhances its appearance.

Signs Your Echeveria laui Isn’t Getting Enough Light:

If you don’t give your Echeveria laui enough sunlight, you’ll notice the following symptoms displayed on the plant:

Spindly growth. This happens when the succulent becomes leggy because it’s trying to reach for more light.
Faded color. The plant’s pink-hued leaves will start to look washed out.

Besides keeping your plant in an area that gets enough sunlight every day, your Echeveria laui should be planted in areas that get temperatures of between 40 and 80 °F (4.4–26.7 °C), whether indoors or outdoors.

Generally, temperatures of approximately 70 °F (21 °C) are ideal for Echeveria plants that are grown indoors.

Give Your Plant a Well-Draining Cactus Mix

Succulents don’t need a lot of water to thrive. Otherwise, they can experience waterlogged soil and root rot.

To give them enough water, you should plant your succulent in a well-draining cactus or succulent mix. It can prevent overwatering and ensure your plant just gets the right amount of water.

I’d recommend purchasing Superfly Bonsai Soil Mix (available on Amazon.com). It’s formulated to promote the growth of healthy succulents. It’s also ready to use straight out of the bag. It contains ingredients that enhance soil drainage, such as pumice and pine bark.

Water Your Succulent Sparingly

When watering your Echeveria laui, you should first check the soil. Insert a finger into the soil to a depth of about two inches (5.08 cm). If the soil feels dry, this indicates the plant requires more water. If the soil is damp, wait another day or two before checking it again.

Signs Your Succulent Needs More Water

Its lower leaves are starting to droop
Its leaves look a bit wrinkled

Both of these symptoms indicate dehydration in the plant, so you should water it immediately. It usually takes much neglect before a La Roseta plant exhibits dehydration symptoms.

A good rule of thumb is to water indoor plants once a week in the summer and once every two weeks in the cooler months. In winter, watering once a month should suffice.

On the other hand, outdoor plants should receive more frequent watering when the temperatures are high and the humidity is low.

You can provide your plants with some shade in the peak of summer to prevent the soil from drying out quickly. Alternatively, you can move the pots under a shaded area or patio.

Use tepid water when watering your La Roseta to avoid damaging the roots from cold shock or burns.

Feed Your Succulent Low-Nitrogen Fertilizer

This succulent doesn’t require lots of fertilizer in order to grow, but you can feed your plant a low-nitrogen, slow-release fertilizer that won’t burn it. This is good because the plant’s soil mix can lose valuable nutrients over time.

Aim to feed your plant with a fertilizer once every two weeks during its growing season, which is during spring and summer.

I recommend The Grow Co Plant Food (available on Amazon.com). It contains a blend of nutrients to feed your succulents gently and enhance their root development as well as stem growth. This fertilizer comes in pellet form, so it’s easy to use because you just have to sprinkle it over the succulent’s soil mix.

Repot It Every Two Years

Since your Echeveria laui doesn’t grow rapidly, you will only need to repot it once every two to three years. Ensure that the pot you choose for your succulent has drainage holes underneath so that water doesn’t saturate the soil for extended periods.

The pot’s material is important. You should choose an unglazed terracotta pot so that it enhances water evaporation. These pots also keep the soil aerated, allowing better oxygen and water exchange.

It ensures that your plant won’t sit in water and that the plant’s roots will be able to access enough oxygen and nutrients to grow.

How To Repot Your Echeveria laui

Remove the plant carefully from its current pot.
Remove any excess soil and debris from the roots.
Cut off dead or rotted roots using sterile shears.
Fill the new pot with fresh cactus or succulent mix.
Lower the plant into its new pot.
Backfill the pot with fresh potting soil.

Make sure that you repot your La Roseta during the growing season in spring to encourage it to grow.

Protect It From Cold Winter Weather

If you’re keeping your Echeveria laui outside, you should be careful that it doesn’t get exposed to harsh winter conditions. When the temperature hits below freezing, this can damage the plant, so bring your plants indoors.

Note that during the winter, the plant becomes dormant and doesn’t require a lot of water in order to survive. Water it about once a month to ensure it remains hydrated and healthy, but test the soil to check that it’s dry enough before watering it.

Treat Powdery Mildew

Powdery mildew is a type of fungal disease that can kill succulents, so you want to keep an eye out for it. Fungal diseases are caused by damp conditions, so you want to avoid overwatering your succulent.

Symptoms of Powdery Mildew on Echeveria laui:

White or grayish powdery coating on the plant
Round powdery spots on the stems and leaves
Yellow-brown spots that turn black (this is a sign the disease is progressing on the plant)
Curled, twisted leaves

If you don’t treat the condition, the succulent could start to droop and die.

How To Treat Powdery Mildew on Your Succulent

To effectively treat powdery mildew on your Echeveria laui succulent, you should follow these tips.

Don’t apply nitrogen fertilizer late in the summer. This prevents the growth of tissue on the plant that is susceptible to the disease.
Don’t water plants from above. Watering the soil of the plants directly reduces humidity, therefore preventing the formation of a damp, moist environment.
Remove any infected parts on the plant, such as leaves. Be careful not to put them in the compost heap, as they will spread fungal diseases to your other plants in the garden.
Use neem oil. This is a safe product that heals plants and doesn’t contain harmful toxins or chemicals. I’d recommend The Grow Co Organic Neem Oil (available on Amazon.com). It needs to be mixed with mild liquid soap and sprayed onto plants. It’s safe because it’s biodegradable and organic.

How To Propagate Your Echeveria laui

If you want to propagate your succulent, you can do this in one of three ways:

From seeds
From stem cuttings
From leaf cuttings

How To Propagate Echeveria From Seeds

Purchase Echeveria laui seeds from your local nursery. Then, follow these steps so that you sow them properly:

Scatter the seeds in a pot that contains fresh potting mix.
Wet the soil and ensure it stays moist so that the seeds will germinate.
Cover the pot with plastic to maintain humidity for the seeds to grow.
Keep the pot in an area of the patio or home that gets bright, indirect light. Avoid direct sunlight because it will be too harsh for the fragile seeds.
Remove the plastic for an hour every day to provide enough ventilation for your succulent.
Maintain a temperature of around 65 °F (18.3 °C) for the seeds, which should germinate within two or three weeks.
Remove the plastic covering when the rosettes form on the plant.
Continue to water the potting soil so that it stays moist.

How To Propagate Echeveria From Stem Cuttings

Another way in which you can grow new Echeveria laui plants is by taking stem cuttings from the original plant. Here are the steps to follow.

Cut one of the stems on the plant that are becoming leggy or spindly.
Place the stem cutting on a tray and let it dry out. This should take a few days, but it’s important to do because it will ensure that it doesn’t contain water before planting.
Plant the stem cutting. Put the calloused end of the cutting in a pot filled with succulent soil mix.
Mist the soil with water using a spray bottle.
Cover the pot with plastic until the plant starts to sprout.
Keep the stem cutting in a sunny spot.
Scale back on watering the soil so that it’s not too moist when you see roots start to form on the cutting,
Observe the plant for growth. When you see a rosette form on the stem cutting, which should happen within four weeks, that’s a good sign your cutting is growing.
Don’t remove leaves that are on the cutting, as these will naturally curl up and die.

How To Propagate Echeveria From Leaf Cuttings

You can also propagate your succulent from leaf cuttings. Here are the steps to follow.

Remove a healthy leaf from the Echeveria laui plant. Tug it away from the rosette.
Place the leaf in an area of the home that gets bright, indirect sunlight.
Let the leaf callous over for a few days.
Plant it in a pot with fresh succulent soil.
Keep the soil moist.
Wait a few weeks for the leaf to develop roots.

Final Thoughts

Echeveria laui is an easy-to-care-for succulent that requires a few essential conditions to grow. Make sure you give this succulent the following care requirements so it maintains its pretty pink color and forms beautiful rosettes:

Give it at least six hours of bright light every day.
Water it when its soil feels dry two inches (5.08 cm) deep.
Repot every two years (with fresh, healthy potting soil).
Treat powdery mildew using neem oil.
Propagate it via cuttings to have new, healthy plants.