Echeveria pulvinata 'Ruby' - Chenille Plant

'Ruby' (Echeveria pulvinata) is a naturally occurring Echeveria form from Oaxaca, Mexico. It is also known as a Chenille Plant, 'Ruby Blush', 'Ruby Slippers', or 'Red Velvet' because it has a crimson, velvety coating to protect it from the intense sun of its rocky habitats.

'Ruby' is a sun-loving plant and needs protection from hard frosts, but a little bit of environmental stress like direct sun and temperatures just above freezing bring out the brightest reds along leaf margins. It is wonderfully low-maintenance whether growing in-ground or in a pot, so long as it has great drainage and gets plenty of sunshine. It usually blooms in winter by sending up flower stalks covered with orange, bell-shaped flowers.

The rosettes will stay fairly small but the fuzzy stems beneath them will continue to branch and grow up to 10" long. Fortunately, 'Ruby' propagates easily from leaf and stem cuttings, so you can keep the plant compact by cutting the stem just below a rosette, leaving to dry 3-5 days, then planting the rosette on moist, well-draining soil to re-grow roots (more info).