Even though they are best known for their green leaves, there are several types of purple succulents that will truly blow your mind. In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about these purple houseplants, from flowering to different species, so read along.
1. GREENOVIA AUREA ‘PURPLE ROSE SUCCULENT’
Buy it at here
2. SEDUM DASYPHYLLUM
3. GRAPTOPETALUM PURPLE DELIGHT
4. ECHEVERIA CUPID
5.ECHEVERIA NEON BREAKER
6.ECHEVERIA SUMMER DREAM
7. ECHEVERIA HERA
8. Lithops Salicola ‘Bacchus
Basic Care – What are purple succulents called?
Purple succulents are simply called succulents, as they are regular ones, but chances are you are referring to the Echeveria subspecies as this is the most well-known purple succulent of them all.
They might be called differently if you are explicitly referring to a particular purple subspecies such as the Purple Heart, Purple beauty or Echeveria to name a few. However, succulents that have a light purple color in their leaves, are regular succulents that change color due to stress that can be caused by light, water or temperature.
This means that the most important aspect of purple succulents is for you to determine if you intend to have a purple one, either by owning a purple subspecies or by inducing stressful effects, or if you have one but want them to go back to their normal green color.
In any case, let’s start by understanding what makes your purple succulents become purple in the first place.
Factors Affecting the Color of Your Succulent
Most succulents are green or greenish in nature, but can turn red, reddish or purple. If this is the case, then you might want to check out the following factors as they can be the cause of this change, and as you might have guessed it, they are sunlight, water and temperature.
Sunlight
Sunlight plays a vital role in the colors that you find in succulents – the more sunlight they receive, the stronger their colors will be. Their colors perk up because these pigments help protect the leaves from getting burnt.
In succulents, these pigments are called anthocyanins and carotenoids, which keep plants protected whenever they are subjected to stress. This stress is environmental stress, which is basically a period in which a plant is under subopᴛι̇ɱal conditions – such as too much direct sunlight or too little water.
Anthocyanins are the pigments responsible for giving succulents the purple, red, reddish color we’ve been talking about. On the other hand, carotenoids are the pigments that turn the leaves into a yellow or orange color.
This process is pretty similar to what happens with huɱaпs and sun-burnt skin. As you might know, our skin is composed of layers. When exposed to sunlight, we release melanin in order to prevent the lower layers of our skin from burning. Resulting in sun-burnt skin. This is exactly what happens with succulents.
Water
You can influence your succulents color with water and how much you give to it. Somewhat related to the previous point, the main reason why succulents have a purple or red color is if they are under some sort of stress – which can come in a number of forms. One way of stress is by having insufficient water, which can, in turn, bring out the purple color in its leaves.
This is why you can decide to water your succulents less frequently than you normally would, in order to bring out the colors in the leaves. Experts agree that there is a sweet spot in which you can give the succulent enough water for it to survive and be healthy, but little enough water so that its colors can show.
A rule of thumb to achieve this sweet spot is allow the soil of your succulent to dry out completely between waterings and you should have your purple plant.
Thankfully, succulents are plants that can really hold their water, so not watering them for a while can be just fine. However, we don’t really recommend this since it’s better if your plant has the right care it needs.
Succulents tend to become purple if they are exposed to colder temperatures.
The reason behind this is evolutionary. In winter there are colder temperatures and less sunlight, which is why plants adapt to these conditions by slowing their growth, and changing their shape and color in order to survive the harsh conditions. For instance, leaves from plants tend to change to a darker hue in order to capture more heat (as darker colors do) and survive during colder periods.
Even though you can’t control it entirely, this is why you can expect your succulents to turn purple during the colder months of the year. So just be patient and you can expect this change at the end of your year.
How do you grow purple succulents?
Fortunately, growing purple succulents is as simple as growing any other type of succulents. Purple succulents differ from regular (green) succulents mainly in their leave’s color, but in all other basic care requirements they have no special consideration.
However, if you want to stress your succulents and turn them into a colorful color, whether it be red or purple, simply read along.
How to make succulents purple?
If you already have a succulent, but wish it to be a bit more purple than it actually is, you can fortunately do a couple of things to make them this way.
How to make succulents purple:
Sunlight: Expose your succulents to more direct sunlight for a prolonged period of ᴛι̇ɱe to bring out the purple in its leaves.
Water: Water your succulent less frequently than you normally would. Allow the soil to dry out completely.
Temperature: Wait for winter as the colder months should change the color of its leaves into a purple color.
Purple Beauty Care
To care for the Purple Beauty simply consider its basic care fundamentals: light, water and soil – and this beginner friendly succulent should be a breeze to take care for. In terms of light, it prefers direct sunlight, but will do incredibly with partial sun too. In terms of water, it prefers infrequent watering (once every other week). Finally choose a well-draining soil to keep it alive as it is prone to quick root rot if overwatered.