PlantFiles: Echeveria
Echeveria minima

Zone 9b coastal Otago New Zealand

I saw this TINY little guy in a home wears place and decided to rescue it- it was tipped out of it's pot and gasping for water and well, Im a sucker for that sort of thing.
Knowing nothing about it's toughness I initially put it on the windowsill, watering every third or forth day (because my other echeverias tend to be very thirsty plants) and it promptly began to offset, producing the tiniest, cutest little pups you are ever likely to see.
I planted it out at the foot of an in-ground Aloe Speciosa, with the thought that they probably share a liking for regular water and the Aloe will shelter the wee guy from frost. It flowered at the beginning of summer, putting up a towering (relatively) spike from which hang a little group of waxy colourful blossoms, of the typical echeveria kind. Very pretty and unexpected. They have lasted about two months and are just starting to dry off now.
I suspect that this species is relatively new to cultivation as I havent seen in around the traps in great numbers nor have I seen it to any great age in collections. But that just might be my limited knowledge.
It is super cute and highly recommended. Its leaves are hard and I suspect that it may take a little more frost than other more floppy echeverias.
I presume that it forms a spreading mat of clones eventually which is a delightful prospect, given its attractive blue-grey with pink trim hues, and attractive flowers. It seems to be slower growing than my larger echeverias.
I will edit this entry after an outdoor winter and report how it survives. Or otherwise.
*Update- the frost that didn't bother my Aloe Speciosa also didn't seem to trouble this echeveria. That said, I brought it back inside because of the frankly jungle-istic conditions in my weedy rock garden, where anything lower than your knee is soon dragged down and devoured by predatory randoms. Still love it. Great for underplanting succulent bonsai-type specimens.