Echeveria runyonii 'Topsy Turvy'

Echeveria runyonii 'Topsy Turvy'

The species runyonii has been known since 1935 and this cultivar, which occurred as a spontaneous mutation, was named by Myron Kimnach. It has been a popular variety in recent years and has been mass produced by tissue culture, though propagation by the slow way of removing offsets is possible as it does produce some over time, though they are tightly held around the base of the plant. It can get quite large, to about 18cm across and the twisted curling leaves are very eye catching. The bonus with this variety comes from the summer flowers which are bright pinky orange and are large compared to other species. The tall stems make it a good cut flower and they last for weeks in a vase. The only problem I have had in growing it comes from water being retained in the closely packed leaves which can cause some plants to rot during humid weather. Therefore it is a best grown 'hard' with little added fertilizer or too much water. It shows its displeasure at non ideal conditions by coming a bit loose in the pot which usually indicates that some of the root system has rotted away.