This plant prefers sun in cooler gardens but will also take considerable shade and is cold hardy to about 15-20 degrees F. A nice plant in the ground or used in larger containers.

Echeveria is a member of the large Crassula family (Crassulaceae) that has about 1,400 species in 33 genera with worldwide distribution. Echeveria, with approximately 180 species, come from mid to higher elevations in the Americas with the main distribution in Mexico and central America but with one species found from as far north as southern Texas and several species occurring as far south as Bolivia, Peru and possibly Argentina. The book "The genus Echeveria" by John Pilbeam (published by the British Cactus and Succulent Society, 2008) is an excellent source of information on the species and "Echeveria Cultivars" by Lorraine Schulz (AKA Rudolf Schulz) and Attila Kapitany (Schulz Publishing, 2005) has excellent photos and information on the cultivars and hybrids. It has been argued by some that the correct pronunciation for the genus is ed ek-e-ve'-ri-a, though ech-e-ver'-i-a seems more prevalent.

Echeveria agavoides is an extremely variable species that has leaves that range from almost entirely green to those that are pink and with some that have deep red markings along the leaf margins. The species generally inhabits rocky canyons and arid hillsides of Central Mexico and found in the states of Aguascalientes, Durango, Guanajuato, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí and Zacatecas, though there are reports of it being found as far north as Coahuila and as far south as Oaxaca. The genus was named to honor Mexican botanical artist Atanasio Echeverría y Godoy in 1828 by French botanist Augustin Pyramus de Candolle (DeCandolle) who was impressed with Echeverría's drawings. Echeverría had accompanied the the Sessé and Mociño expedition (led by Martin de Sessé y Lacasta and Mariano Mociño Suárez de Figueroa) while exploring Mexico and northern Central America and he produced thousands of botanical illustrations. The specific epithet means "looking like an agave" in reference to this species narrow triangular leaves that are more acutely tipped than others in the genus. This resemblance also gives this species one of its alternate common names, Molded Wax Agave. It is also called Molded Wax, Molded Wax Plant, Wax Echeveria and Carpet Echeveria.

The plant we grow as this species is a selected form that is a nice robust plant with more red in the leaf than some, but it is not as large as another cultivar we grow called Echeveria agavoides 'Maria' nor does it have the distinct red edge leaves like Echeveria agavoides 'Ebony' or have the bright green red marked leaves of Echeveria Echeveria agavoides 'Lipstick'. It is also not as strongly clustering or have as deeply red tinged leaves as Echeveria agavoides 'Prolifera'. Our plants of this clone came tagged as Echeveria agavoides 'Red' and were produced in the micropropagation laboratory (tissue culture) by Longview Horticulture in Longwarry, Victoria, Austrailia - the image displayed courtesy of Longview Horticulture. We have grown and sold this plant since 2005. 

This information about Echeveria agavoides displayed on this web page is based on research we have conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations we have made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how our crops have performed in containers in the nursery field. Where appropriate, we will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share cultural information that would aid others in growing this plant.