Echeveria
X gilva cv Blue Surprise
van Keppel.
A very nice blue cultivar which is reported as
a somatic mutant of the cultivar 'Gilva', featured on page 16i. Apparently van
Keppel discovered the original plant in a Dutch commercial nursery in 1954.
The plant is very attractive in Winter when the leaves change colour from greenish
blue to bright blue with a pink tinge.
The mature rosettes grow up to 12 cm Ø and readily form many offsets.
The inflorescence is up to 30/33 cm tall, bearing pinkish red and yellow flowers,
in April and May in the Northern hemisphere.
Leaf cuttings do not revert to the green form so this mutant is very
stable and should reproduce without any problem.
CULTIVATION:
Very easy in normal C&S compost with some added slow release fertiliser.
Growth in the summer is fairly rapid so repot when the plant outgrows it's container.
In the winter, conditions should be just enough water to stop drying out at
a temperature of 3/5ºC, and good air circulation and decent light is best.
PROPAGATION:
In Spring and early Summer by leaves, offsets or cuttings. The
flowering stem technique is not likely to take with the thin inflorescence stems
produced by this hybrid.
