Echeveria agavoides 'Mars Galaxy' - Echéveria à feuilles d'agave, Echévéria petit agave

The Echeveria 'Mars Galaxy' has a very contemporary look: its rosette is neat, well-defined, and its thick leaves colour strongly under abundant light. This indoor succulent will appeal to those who love sculptural forms and water-efficient varieties. On a well-exposed shelf, near a window in the office or in a conservatory, it has a lot of style and requires little care.

This selection is most often sold under the name Echeveria agavoides ‘Mars Galaxy’; it is a horticultural form derived from Echeveria agavoides (Crassulaceae family). The species is native to Mexico, where it grows in dry environments.
Mars Galaxy®, slow-growing, forms a tight rosette, typically 10 to 25 cm in diameter in a pot and 10 to 15 cm tall. Its triangular, thick, waxy leaves end in a point; their colouring intensifies when the plant receives a lot of light: the tips become brick red and the leaf edges take on darker purplish to violet hues. The lamina sometimes takes on orange or ochre tones. In late summer, this variety may produce a slender flower spike that can reach 40-50 cm, bearing bell-shaped flowers in coral to orange tones.

Indoors, provide it with bright light, with a few hours of direct morning sun preferably, and temperatures between 12 and 28°C (avoid dropping below 5°C for several days). It is a plant suited to beginners, provided you do not overwater: excess water and lack of light are the two most common causes of failure.
Echeveria agavoides can be grown both indoors and outdoors, provided it is given plenty of light and a very well-draining soil. It can be placed outside as soon as temperatures exceed 10°C, in full sun and sheltered from rain, but must be brought back indoors in autumn before the first frosts.

The Echeveria 'Mars Galaxy'® is well-suited to a console table near a glazed bay window, or in a low bowl display. As companion plants, you could choose an Aeonium 'Bronze Medal', a Crassula perforata for its "chain" stems, Senecio cylindricus for its bluish foliage and an Echeveria elegans 'Rose' for its porcelain-toned rosettes.