Echeveria Perle Von Nurnberg Turning Green & Care Tips

Echeveria Perle Von Nurnberg is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful Echeverias out there. The purple- pink colour and rosette leaf arrangement are incredibly attractive.

But how do you maintain that purple and should you be concerned when the leaves start loosing it and turn green? This article can also be applied to Perle Von Nurnberg’s hybrid the Purple Pearl.

5 Reasons For Echeveria Perle Von Nurnberg Turning Green

Watering
Lack of sunlight
Repotting
Weather
Seasons

1. Watering

To water or not to water. That is the burning question on every succulent lover’s mind. The advice can be confusing. Over the many years I have been growing succulents, I’ve heard and read a lot of conflicting advice. It also doesn’t help that many succulents have different watering requirement. While some stay beautiful and healthy on hardly any water, others can shrivel up an die.

One side effect of too much water can also be loss of colour. When Echeveria Perle Von Nurnberg is watered a little too much this will stimulate growth which, in turn, can result in a greener plant. Keeping this plant on the dry side and water as per below, should ensure that the plant has a bit more colour to it.

The Perle Von Nurnberg is a pretty hardy succulent that will withstand a drought, but if planted in a pot, especially a terracotta or a dark coloured pot, it will need to be watered more regularly during hot summers.

The best rule is to let the potting mix completely dry out before watering again. During a hot and dry summer the plant may need watering approximately every 3rd day.

Succulent potting mix is essential as the plant can otherwise rot. Regular watering during dry summer should also stop the potting mix turning hydrophobic from being too dry.

Hydrophobic potting mix will repel water and although it will seem like the water seeps in, it is in fact just running out of the drainage hole not doing anything for the plant. This may cause excessive shrivelling and even death.

In the garden, this plant is a lot more hardy and can last long periods without water in summer. At the end of autumn/ throughout winter Echeveria Perle Von Nurnberg will not need to be watered very often at all. Once every other week will do to prevent mildew and other fungal infections.

2. Lack of Sun

Just like the majority of colourful, sun loving succulents, Echeveria Perle Von Nurnberg will loose its purples to green if it is not receiving enough sun.

This succulent is also not suitable for growing indoors, unless, you have a particularly sunny sunroom, live in a glass box or have growing lights. Even then you may have trouble maintaining the colour and shape.

There are succulents that can be grown in a bright spot indoors without exposure to sun (Sanseveria, Haworthia, Gasteria etc.) but the majority of succulents are likely to eventually die indoors.

In climates where the summer temperatures do not often go over 30C/86F, Perle Von Nurnberg can be left out in full sun for best colour. The minimum exposure to sun for these plants is about 5 hours every day. Less than that can lead to leaves going green.

It can be a tough balancing act to find the right spot for your Perle Von Nurnberg if you live in a country prone to very hot summers and droughts.

Our nursery is in NSW Australia and this December and January alone we had several days well over 40 C (104 F) which would cause extensive burns to lots of succulents exposed to direct sun all day long.

Our solution to this was to install a retractable 30% shadecloth that is pulled over our potted succulents on days where temperatures go north of 30C (86F). The shadecloth also eliminates some of the harmful UV rays. We choose 30% as it seems to be just enough shade to prevent burns but not enough to cause colour loss.

For domestic purposes an umbrella can be pitched over your succulents on very hot, sunny days or a shadecloth pulled over posts. Star pickets are most reliable, but bamboo stick may do the trick too.

Alternatively, pot plants can be moved to shaded areas (under a tree, veranda) but if left for too long, they can loose colour.

3. Recent Re-potting Into a Bigger Pot

Losing colour after repotting applies to a lot of succulents as well as Perle Von Nurnberg. During the growing season (spring, summer) and when re-potted into a bigger pot succulents are likely to do two things.

One, grow paler and less colourful (giving way to green) for a while and two, stretch out a bit as they grow larger, becoming less compact. Once the roots reach the size of the pot the plants will then transition to more compact and colourful state.

This is natural and not much can be done about it other than not re-potting your Perle Von Nurnberg very often. We usually upgrade pots just a tad. For instance, small plants in a 5cm (2inch) pot will be first upgraded to a 7cm (2.8inch) pot, then 10cm (4inch) etc. This ensures the plant stays fairly colourful during growth, though sometimes they will grow greener, especially in Spring.

Echeveria Perle Von Nurnberg can be left in a small pot for a long time to get compact and colourful plant, but they may not grow much and can get too stressed during extreme weather, like heatwaves.

4. Weather

Weather can also have an impact on your Perle Von Nurnbergs’ colour. If the forecast is for overcast weather for a week, this may result in more green leaves.

When unseasonably cold in spring or summer, you may see pink and purple increase. Please take into account that PVNs are not frost hardy and should be kept under cover/ frost cloth when frost is expected.

Warmer weather also stimulates growth and so Perle Von Nurnberg may turn green when temperatures rise. During the warmer weather the colour is usually much less pink/ purple than in the cold.

5. Seasons

The seasons are by far the greatest influencers of colour intensity in succulents. The colours are at their most vibrant when it starts getting cooler in autumn and throughout winter (given the plant is also exposed to enough sun). Perle Von Nurnberg is likely to develop some amazing purple and pink colour in the cold months.

Unfortunately it is also likely to lose that colour intensity in the warmer months. Fortunately Perle Von Nurnberg should hold at least some of its colour for the majority of year if they have enough sun. Some succulents such as Echeveria Violet Queen completely lose the pinky-violet colour for most of the warm season and absolutely nothing can be done about it.

Unexplained Reasons

Sometimes plants can change colour for no obvious reason. We can have a tray of Perle Von Nurnberg growing in the same location, same amount of sun and water and there can be slightly different colour to each of them.

It can be a mutation within plants but other than that, sometimes I just cannot put my finger on it.

If you’d like to learn more about Echeveria Perle Von Nurnberg, how to best care for it and propagate, read on.

Description

Perle Von Nurnberg is a hybrid succulent with large leaves that can range in colour from silvery to purple to pink. The leaves are pointy at the end and arranged into a symmetrical rosette shape.

In good conditions the plant can grow to over 15cms in diameter when mature. The rosette is usually solitary, although it can produce an offset or two every now and again.

The leaves are large and spoon shaped. The most vibrant colour comes through when the plant is exposed to the sun and during the colder months

Purplish flowers appear in spring/summer on a tall stalk over the main rosette.

Propagation

Echeveria Perle Von Nurnberg can be propagated by leaf or cuttings. In our experience this plant is one of the easiest to propagate from leaf and has a very high success rate. It is important the leaves are intact and kept in a bright but shaded, dry spot. New plantlets and roots should appear in about a month in the growing season.

To propagate by cuttings, cut the main rosette with a clean knife but leave a few leaves below as this way you will get new rosettes growing from the stalk. Leave the cutting for a day so the wound dries and plant in succulent potting mix or seed raising mix. Roots should appear in 2-3 weeks.

We have never tried this, but have found evidence that PVN can be also propagated from seed. This may prove difficult and seed grown succulents take a long time to become full size, but it should be a relatively inexpensive experiment as seeds can be bought for a fraction of the price of a rooted plant.

It is important that propagation is done in the growing season. The best time is mid-late spring when the plant is eager to grow and the sun is not yet too strong.

Position & Care

Echeveria Perle Von Nurnberg needs direct sun exposure to maintain those pretty colours. Take extra care when temperatures are forecast to rise above 35C (95F) as the plant, especially younger ones, and plants in pots can have their foliage burnt.

Water when the potting mix dries out in the warmer months, every 2-3 in winter or when the plant starts shrivelling. Keeping Echeveria Perle Von Nurnberg on the dry side is not a bad thing but mind the potting mix does not turn hydrophobic.

Perle Von Nurnberg is well suited to grow in pots as well as the garden. If planted in the garden it shouldn’t be in a spot that floods and has stagnant water after rain.

This succulent may struggle in tropical areas of the world as it does not like high temperatures and humidity. In very humid and wet climate Perle Von Nurnberg is susceptible to fungal diseases and can easily rot. It may help keeping it under cover so watering can be controlled and in a gritty potting mix.

Pests

There are numerous pests that can attack the Perle Von Nurnberg. Mealybugs and Aphids are both big fans so watch out for white, cottony bits in-between the leaves (Mealies), little black/green bugs (Aphids) mainly in the centre or on flower stalks.

Slugs, grasshoppers, deer and possums can also munch on this plant.

Toxicity

Echeveria Perle Von Nurnberg, just like other Echeveria, is said not be toxic to pets or humans and there are no reported cases of it causing any issues.

Where Can I Get It

PVN should also be quite easy to come by in Garden Centres, Nurseries or online all around the world.