Echeveria ‘Purple Pearl’ aka ‘Perle von Nürnberg’

A Dutch Echeveria cultivar

Ovata B.V., a Dutch succulent nursery, applied for European plant-variety protection for ‘Purple Pearl’ in 2008. Protection was granted in 2011, and official records treat it as a separate cultivar from ‘Perle von Nürnberg’.

As a cultivated Echeveria, ‘Purple Pearl’ retains the group’s preference for abundant light and an airy root zone that dries fully after moisture.

Echeveria ‘Purple Pearl’ aka ‘Perle von Nürnberg’: bright light and fast drainage

• Light: Provide very bright light with several hours of gentle direct sun after gradual acclimation. Low light opens and stretches the rosette, while a sudden move into hot sun can scorch it.
• Watering: Let the mix dry completely, then water thoroughly at substrate level and drain the pot. Do not leave water in the rosette or saucer.
• Substrate: Use a coarse, mineral-rich succulent mix that dries quickly around the roots.
• Temperature: Protect the rosette from frost, cold rain and a wet root ball in cool conditions.
• Humidity: Ordinary to low humidity is suitable when air moves around the leaves and the centre remains dry.
• Feeding: Apply a light, reduced-strength feed while new leaves are developing; heavy feeding can produce soft, stretched growth.
• Repotting: Use a shallow pot only slightly wider than the roots, with an unobstructed drainage hole.
• Propagation: Use rooted offsets or complete leaves removed with the base intact. Let leaf wounds callus before placing them on a gritty mix.
• Winter: When growth slows in winter, leave the mix dry for longer and resume more frequent watering only as active growth returns.

Common problems with Echeveria ‘Purple Pearl’ (‘Perle von Nürnberg’)

• Soft, translucent lower leaves: This usually indicates excess moisture or damaged roots. Stop watering and inspect the stem and roots. If rot has entered the stem, use a disinfected blade to cut back to firm tissue, allow the cut surface to callus fully, then restart the healthy rosette in dry mineral substrate.
• Snapped tips or rubbed surface marks: Mechanical damage from transport is permanent but should remain dry and firm. Keep the damaged area dry and monitor it; spreading softness or darkening indicates rot rather than a cosmetic scar.
• Dry bleached patches after a move: Firm tan or pale marks on the most exposed side are sun scorch. Keep the damaged area dry and increase direct sun in stages over at least one to two weeks; existing scars will not disappear.
• Dry leaves beneath a firm rosette: The oldest leaves are gradually reabsorbed as the rosette grows. Remove them only when they release easily. Several fresh leaves shrivelling together, or a loose rosette above them, calls for a root and stem check.

Echeveria is generally non-toxic to cats and dogs

Echeveria is generally regarded as non-toxic to cats and dogs. Eating plant material can still cause digestive upset.

A genus named for Atanasio Echeverría

Echeveria carries the surname of Atanasio Echeverría y Godoy, a Mexican botanical artist associated with the early documentation of Mexico’s plant life.

The genus Echeveria was published by de Candolle in Prodromus in 1828.