Echeveria elegans, commonly known as Mexican Snowball, is a popular evergreen succulent that mounds or spreads slowly in tight colonies. Edges of leaves are slightly pink, producing equally pretty, small, pink flowers with a yellow tinge.
Mexican Snowball is perfect as groundcover, part of a wedding bouquet, for rock gardens, green roofs or containers. Anciently, it was believed to drive away evil spirits. Echeveria spp. stem from thick-leaved rosettes. The leaves are fleshy and have a waxy cuticle on the exterior. Often the leaves are colored and a firm touch can mar the skin and leave marks. The Echeveria succulent plant is slow growing and usually doesn’t exceed 12 inches in height or spread. Native from Texas to Central America, the plants prefer desert conditions, but will tolerate periods of moisture as long as they are allowed to dry out before applying more water.