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Echeveria 'Afterglow' - This very beautiful and vigorous succulent has inch wide powdery pinkish-lavender lanceolate leaves that have a brighter pink edging and are aptly described as an "out-of-this-world" color. It grows on a short stout stem that holds the leaves in 12-16-inch-wide rosettes. The deep orange-red flowers can emerge from below lower leaves or sometimes as a terminal inflorescence. It is best to remove flower stalks as it detracts from the foliage and a terminal flower stalk aborts further growth.
Plant in full sun for best color but it will also grow well in shade. In a well-drained soil one can water this plant occasionally and it will also tolerate winter rainfall in these conditions. It is cold hardy to at least mid 20°s F.
The genus Echeveria was named to honor 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 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 (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.
There has been some disagreement on the origins of this plant. Though sometimes incorrectly credited to Echeveria hybridizer Dick Wright, this plant was actually created by Don Worth, an avid succulent grower and professional photographer in the San Francisco Bay area. Don used Echeveria cante as the seed parent with Echeveria shaviana as the pollen parent to create both Echeveria 'Afterglow' and its sister seedling 'Morning Light'. At that time, Echeveria cante had not yet been named as a separate species and was still thought of as a form of E. subrigida so the parentage was originally given as E. subrigida x E. shaviana. Our thanks to Brian Kemble, Curator of The Ruth Bancroft Garden, for tracking down this information on Echeveria 'Afterglow'. We grew and sold this attractive succulent from 2005 until 2022.
This information about Echeveria 'Afterglow' 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.
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