New succulents for 2016

New Succulents

New succulents for 2016New Succulent Plant Introductions

Let's say you're in the nursery business and can crossbreed popular succulents so their offspring combine their parents' most desirable traits. What would you aim for? That's what I found out on a recent visit to Altman Plants, the largest grower of succulents in the US. I was there to photograph Altman's spring succulent introductions---new beauties now available (or soon to be) through Monrovia and other distributors, and also via Altman's online mail-order nursery. The ones shown here were created by Altman staff hybridizer Renee O'Connell, who specializes in echeverias and other nonspiny varieties. Renee's own descriptions, below, are in green.E Misty Lilac and Cubic Frost

Echeveria 'Misty Lilac':  This plant is similar to ‘Cubic Frost’, but is a much larger version. (DLB: 'Misty Lilac' at left is about 18 inches in diameter; 'Cubic Frost' at right, half that size.)

Echeveria 'Camaleon': The intent of this cross was to create a dark echeveria with these odd colors, but what's interesting is that ‘Camaleon’ (Spanish for chameleon) has what I call an “ephemeral variegation.” For several months the new growth is often yellow, lime green, and shades of blue green, sometimes blushed pink in high light, before reverting to its unusual dark hues.E Dark Moon and Black Prince

Echeveria 'Dark Moon': The intent of this cross was a variably colored Echeveria ‘Black Prince’ with improved resistance to pathogens. (DLB: 'Dark Moon' is at left, 'Black Prince' at right.) 27_IMG_5466GalaxyBlue_annotated_resized

Echeveria 'Galaxy Blue': This cross was done to create a undulate, offsetting echeveria. ‘Galaxy Blue’ is versatile in that it looks good in a 2.5” pot, has already begun to offset at 3-1/2 inches in size, and is equally attractive in a 2-gallon pot.IMG_5497GraptoPlatinum_annotated_resized

Graptoveria 'Platinum': This was the result of wanting to create a very white plant with an attractive morphology. (DLB: "Morphology" refers to a plant's shape or form. Succulents in the genus Graptoveria are intergeneric crosses of Graptopetalum and Echeveria.)

E 'Platinum' flower

‘Platinum’ is an attractive plant that has proven landscape worthy in temperate climates, but for me, its unusual, very delicately tinted flower is the pièce de résistance.

IMG_5475CotyChocFingers_resized

Cotyledon 'Chocolate Fingers': The intent of the cross that resulted in ‘Chocolate Fingers’ was to create a variable color for Cotyledon; something different than the shades of white or gray that are so prevalent.IMG_5488CotyMintTruffles_resized

Cotyledon 'Mint Truffles': Unlike many other cotyledons, 'Mint Truffles' does not grow upward to become lanky, but spreads laterally in the landscape. The mint green leaves, margined with red, create an attractive accent for other plants in the landscape.

New succulent introductions for 2016

Echeveria ‘Iresina’: The goal was an ‘Afterglow’ type echeveria for the landscape with a more concentric morphology. 'Iresina', a lilac-majenta echeveria, produces large vermillion flowers. (DLB: 'Iresina' is at left, about 18 inches in diameter. 'Afterglow' rosettes at right are about 12 inches. Memo to self: Shoot 'Iresina' in bloom!)

New succulent for 2016

Crassula ‘Ogre’s Fingers’: An eccentric form of Crassula ‘Gollum’ with mind of its own! Can’t seem to quite make up its mind if it wants to make big “fingers,” flattened, fluted leaves or near-mushroom shapes, but is never boring. When grown in good light, leaf tips light up a glowing crimson, and fingers are translucent glowing green, especially when backlit by the sun. (DLB: 'Ogre's Fingers' is at left, 'Gollum' at right. Both are Crassula ovata (jade) cultivars.)

IMG_5436_640x413

Special thanks to Ingeborg Carr of Altman Plants, shown here holding Echeveria 'Platinum', for expediting my visit and Renee O'Connell's descriptions. ~ Debra Lee Baldwin


Enjoyed this article? Please share it!

8 Comments

  1. Penah Gakeamoipha Katholo on May 11, 2016 at 5:57 am

    Is it possible t o get this beautiful succulents here in Botswana they will get here fine iI am crazy aabout your succulents

  2. Rose on October 11, 2017 at 4:14 am

    What about Echeveria galaxy green succulents, what is the height and width of mature plant.

    • Debra on October 17, 2017 at 9:28 am

      I’m not familiar with that cultivar, sorry.

  3. Rick Meece on September 17, 2019 at 11:20 am

    I just bought an Altman plant labelled Graptoveria April Dawn. I can find NO information about this plant online–only 1 photograph of a plant in bloom. Would love to know size, care–ANY info on this plant!

    • Debra Lee Baldwin on September 17, 2019 at 11:30 am

      Hi Rick — I’m not familiar with that particular cultivar, but it’s doubtless similar to other graptoveria cultivars. They’re easy-grow plants that benefit from “hybrid vigor.” Same care requirements as most succulents https://debraleebaldwin.com/succulent-faqs/.

    • Melanie on June 17, 2020 at 11:36 pm

      I also bought a plant named graptoveria April Dawn! Curious about the info on it too

      • Debra Lee Baldwin on June 19, 2020 at 11:43 am

        Hi Melanie — I’m not familiar with that one. There are so many cultivars, and the names may not be consistent from one source to another. I’ll keep an eye out for it!

  4. Kate on October 4, 2020 at 11:57 pm

    I’m curious about how these cultivars are produced and approved, at Altman or elsewhere. Do they typically test through multiple generations to ensure these traits will pass on reliably if new individuals are grown from seed? Too often I have seen varieties labeled as cultivars that do not actually produce offspring with the same attractive traits, so that growing from cuttings is the only viable option to reproduce their appearance.

Leave a Comment





This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.