Echeveria X Imbricata ‘Compton’s Carousel’ (Variegated Hens and Chicks)

A beautiful glaucous succulent with compact rosettes of leaves, forming pretty clusters as the babies develop. 

Deployed as an adjective for non-edible things, ‘delicious’ can often seem over sensational  but these incredibly striking fleshy leaves arranged chubbily into compact rosettes deserve this description. They look most appetising arranged en masse into generous containers (shallow ones with good gritty earth) where their fondant whorls can sit jauntily over a sprinkling of sharp jaggedy grit. Like trays of sweets in sugar. Pretty clusters will form naturally as pups are produced around the base of the grownups and you’ll have masses before you know it. Tall flower spikes will emerge from mature rosettes in Summer, are these are orange and yellow with delicate pendulous blooms.

Perfectly happy outside in the summer but frost or damp will be the death of them. This will break your heart (we know from experience. Be told) so these really do need to be overwintered in a bright spot indoors. That creamy-white / green striping does look appropriately festive now we think about it, so they’re perfect indoors over Christmas.

N.B. When clipping several plants with the same tool, have a bucket containing a 5% bleach solution and swish your blades around for 30 seconds between plants to sterilise them. This will help avoid the chance of cross contamination of disease.

As with all woody plants, plant high, exposing as much of the taper at the base of the trunk as possible. Allowing soil to accumulate round the base of a tree can be fatal. Keep very well-watered when first planted.