This plant is best in full sun in cooler gardens where the leaf color becomes most reddish but will also take considerable shade and is cold hardy to about 15-20 degrees F. This is one of the best of this species for making a solid cover several feet wide.

The genus Echeveria is a member of the large Crassula family (Crassulaceae), which has about 1,400 species in 33 genera with worldwide distribution. Echeveria, with approximately 180 species, are native to 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 beautiful photos and great information on the cultivars and hybrids. It has been argued by some that the correct pronunciation for the genus is ek-e-ve'-ri-a, though ech-e-ver'-i-a seems in more prevalent use in the US.

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 name for the genus honors Mexican botanical artist Atanasio Echeverría y Godoy in 1828 by the French botanist Augustin Pyramus de Candolle (DeCandolle) who was very 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 had 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 Agave, Wax Echeveria and Carpet Echeveria.

The 'Prolifera' cultivar forms wide clusters of rosettes faster with more reddish pink in the leaf than the typical species, but its individual rosettes are not as large as 'Maria' nor as red edged as Echeveria agavoides 'Ebony' and it has longer duller green leaves lacking the strong red edge that Echeveria Echeveria agavoides 'Liptstick has. Our plants came with many other Echeveria agavoides cultivars and hybrids that we received from Stockton Succulent collector Alice Waidhofer. 

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