Plant in full to part coastal sun or light shade in a well-drained soil or succulent mix and irrigate occasionally. Hardiness is not well known but we have had it weather a light frost at our nursery without damage and likely it will prove hardy down into the 20s° F. This should prove to be a great plant in the ground in locations with good drainage or planted as a large container specimen. It has been noted as holding up well and maintaining good color in different conditions and not needing to be de-headed and re-rooted frequently as many of the larger Echeveria require.

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 name for the genus honors the 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 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.

This hybrid was created by Robert Campbell by crossing Echeveria 'Joy's Giant', a E. gibbiflora hybrid from New Zealand with Echeveria laui, a beautiful species with fat bluish white leaves from Oaxaca. In repeating this cross Campbell developed a stable seed stain so most plants sold are seedlings of this grex group, which likely explains why the International Crassullaceae Network web listing for 'Blue Dude' notes that there are several clones in the trade. After seeing a wonderful picture of this plant posted to Facebook in April 2013 we purchased 3 plants from JadePoint Succulents in North Dakota and vegetatively propagated it to the point that we are able to sell plants in 2015 and continued to sell this fun plant until 2019. 

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