Echeveria: The Best Succulent to Grow in Polytunnels

Have you just acquired a new polytunnel installation in your garden, you may feel like growing something new and more exotic perhaps! One of the most popular plant species polytunnel gardeners would like to grow in their polytunnel construction is succulents.

 

As a keen gardener, you will know that there are thousands of different varieties of succulents. Are they suitable for growing in a polytunnel installation? No, they are not. One species of succulents that thrive in a polytunnel is Echeveria.

 

Not only are they very tolerant, but they also flower with small delicate beautiful flowers. As a gardener, it is always nice to be rewarded and flowers are the gardener's best reward.

 

Are Echeverias Easy to Propagate?

The best thing about Echeverias is that they are super easy to propagate. In general, succulents are easy to propagate, but Echeverias are simply the best. One plant can go on to produce hundreds of others.

 

Next time when you are in a florist or in a supermarket, see if you can find a variety of Echeveria. All you have to do is to remove one leaf, place it on top of compost, and wait for the magic to happen.

 

Before you know it, your leaf will start to produce new plants along its edges or at the bottom of the leaf.

 

Does Echeveria Need Full Sun?

 

Yes and no. They appreciate full sun but they are also happy to grow under slightly shadier conditions. That is why they make such a great succulent to grow in your polytunnel construction.

When the sun moves away during autumn and winter, they will simply not grow so much.

 

Don’t worry, they will make up for their slow growth during spring and summer when they will put on a growth spurt.

 

Another thing you need to know about growing Echeverias is that they are very tolerant when it comes to cooler temperatures. If the temperature should drop below zero in your polytunnel construction for a few nights, you have nothing to worry about at all.

 

Does Echeveria Need a Lot of Water?

 

Most succulents need very little water to grow. That is true of Echeveria as well. As a matter of fact, you probably only need to water your Echeveria plants in your polytunnel installation more than once a week during hot weather.

 

Here´s a top tip for watering Echeveria. Recycle a plastic bottle and make lots of small holes in it. Place it in the soil or compost. Fill it with water and let it drip through into the soil. That way, the Echeverias in your polytunnel installation will look after themselves more or less.

 

Conclusion

 

Succulents grow better in a polytunnel installation than they do in our centrally heated homes. Echeverias are one of the best varieties of succulents that you can grow. Many gardeners grow them because they get a kick out of propagating them. Others grow them because they love the beautiful floral abundance they produce in these very adaptable polytunnel constructions.