California and the birth of the modern ornamental succulent
How the United States Transformed Echeverias Forever
For decades, Echeverias, Graptopetalum, or Pachyphytum were simply botanical plants. Collectors sought them mainly for their rarity, geographic origin, and scientific interest. The modern concept of ornamental hybrid, perfect rosette, extreme colors, or "premium" plants did not yet exist.
But everything began to change in the mid-20th century. And curiously, the place that revolutionized succulents was not Mexico. It was California.
California had the perfect climate
Southern California had ideal conditions for cultivating Mexican Crassulaceae. Plenty of light, mild winters, low humidity, and a Mediterranean climate. Practically perfect for genera such as Echeveria, Graptopetalum, or Pachyphytum.
Many Mexican species adapted so well that they began to be mass cultivated in gardens and ornamental nurseries. What until then were relatively unknown plants outside botanical circles slowly began to transform into something much larger.
This is where the modern ornamental cultivation of succulents truly begins.
Succulents ceased to be simple botanical curiosities.
Until that moment, succulents were still a relatively small niche. But during the 50s and 60s, the United States experienced a huge suburban expansion. Residential gardens, ornamental landscaping, and interest in resilient and decorative plants began to grow.
And the Crassulaceae fit perfectly.They were resilient, exotic, relatively easy to propagate, and visually very different from traditional ornamental plants.
Little by little, they began to emerge from private collections, botanical societies, and exchanges among enthusiasts to enter commercial nurseries, garden centers, and large ornamental productions.
Succulents were starting to become a commercial product.
The big change: starting to select beauty
And here probably occurs one of the most important moments in the entire modern history of Echeverias.
American nurserymen begin to understand something revolutionary. Succulents did not have to remain completely "pure" from a botanical point of view. They could also be improved ornamentally.That change transforms absolutely everything.
Because until then, most collectors primarily sought natural species and original forms. California begins to look for more intense colors, larger rosettes, wavy edges, impossible shapes, and increasingly spectacular plants.
And thus the first great modern ornamental hybrids are born.
Dick Wright: probably the most important breeder of Echeverias
If there is a fundamental name in this story, it is probably Dick Wright.
Wright began hybridizing around the late 1950s and quickly became obsessed with creating visually spectacular Echeverias.He worked a lot with Echeveria gibbiflora and Echeveria shaviana, two species that are still fundamental within many modern genetic lines today.
He was particularly interested in:
- Wavy edges
- Giant hybrids
- Carunculated forms
- Soft colors
- Sculptural plants
And here appears something very important. Before Dick Wright, many Echeverias were quite simple visually. The original botanical species were interesting, but many still had discreet colors, open forms, and a much more natural appearance.
Dick Wright begins to select extreme undulation, pastel colors, giant size, and very marked ornamental deformations. The plants stopped looking simply like “succulents”.
They began to look like giant flowers, living sculptures, and almost alien organisms.
And honestly, much of the modern visual language of Echeverias originates here.
Many of his historical hybrids are still authentic references within modern collecting. Plants like Mauna Loa, Afterglow, Lola, Dick’s Pink or Cubic Frost helped define the ornamental aesthetic that we automatically associate with hybrid Echeverias today: huge rosettes, extreme undulation, pastel tones, and increasingly sculptural structures.Even today, a large part of modern Asian genetics still has direct or indirect influence from those early Californian selections.
Renee O’Connell and the evolution of curled Echeverias
Another key figure during this stage was Renee O'Connell. While Dick Wright had revolutionized the giant and sculptural Echeverias, Renee helped to greatly refine the modern ornamental aesthetic of American Crassulaceae.
She worked especially with lines derived from Echeveria shaviana and other wavy species, developing increasingly compact, curled, and decorative hybrids. Her selections helped to consolidate the pastel aesthetic, the extremely wavy edges, and the almost unreal shapes that decades later would have a significant influence on the Asian market.
Many historical hybrids associated with this American stage remain true icons of ornamental collecting today. Plants such as Neon Breakers, Blue Curls, Mardi Gras, Baron Bold or Raindrops helped to definitively popularize the Echeverias with curled edges and sculptural appearance that we automatically associate with modern collecting today.
The hybrids that changed the market
Many historical plants are born directly from this stage. Afterglow, Mauna Loa, Lola, Chantilly, or Dick’s Pink appear during this ornamental revolution.
And although today there are thousands of modern hybrids, many current genetic lines still derive directly or indirectly from those first Californian selections.
Especially many Korean hybrids, wavy Echeverias, modern compact lines, and pastel hybrids still have behind them genetics originally developed in California.
California created the modern visual language
And this is very important to understand.
Because Korea perfected many things afterwards. But California was the one who first defined the modern idea of ornamental rosette, decorative hybrid, giant Echeveria, and extreme aesthetic selection.
This is where the “ornamental Echeveria” as we know it today really originates. Before, succulents were valued mainly for botanical interest. Afterwards, they began to be valued for beauty. And that completely changes the market.
Altman Plants and the industrial leap
While breeders like Dick Wright revolutionized genetics, other nurseries began to completely transform production. And one of the most important names was Altman Plants.
Here, the scale of the market changes completely. Because we are no longer talking only about small collectors or experimental hybrids. We begin to talk about mass production, large greenhouses, national distribution, and ornamental retail.
Altman Plants understood something before almost anyone else. Succulents could be sold en masse. And they began to develop industrial production systems, mass propagation, and large-scale distribution for garden centers and big box stores.
Plants began to be sold not only for rarity but also for decoration, ease of cultivation, and visual impact.
The 80s and 90s completely accelerated the market
During these decades, many factors coincided. The rise of xerophytic landscaping, suburban growth, improvements in ornamental production, and the increase in collectors led to succulents fully entering the American ornamental market.
More hybrids, more production, more aesthetic selection, and more strange forms were appearing all the time. The industry began to accelerate significantly. And the boundaries between genres also started to break down.
Botanical boundaries begin to blur
Nurserymen are constantly experimenting with Echeveria, Graptopetalum, and Pachyphytum. And they discover something fundamental: many genera hybridize with enormous ease.
Graptoverias, Pachyverias, Graptosedum, and increasingly complex hybrids that are more difficult to classify botanically begin to appear. Many times the boundaries between genera start to become completely diffuse.
And that opens the door to the modern market. Because from that moment on, practically any combination seemed possible.
California created the genetic foundation of the current market
Although today the market is visually dominated by Asia, a lot of modern genetics still has Californian roots.
Especially:
- Wavy hybrids
- Pastel lines
- Giant forms
- Gibbiflora hybrids
- Many modern Echeverias
Korea, China, or Thailand would later transform the compactness, coloration, symmetry, and mutations. But a large part of modern ornamental DNA truly originates in California.
The next revolution would come from Korea
For decades, California completely dominated the market for ornamental hybrids. But in the early 2000s, a new country emerged that would change the rules again: South Korea.
And this time the goal was no longer to create large and spectacular plants. The goal shifted to absolute visual perfection. Extreme compactness, impossible colors, perfect symmetry, and increasingly striking mutations.
And this is probably where the greatest aesthetic revolution in the entire modern history of Echeverias begins.
Continue exploring the history of modern succulents
The revolution of modern succulents did not occur in a single place.From the first Echeverias discovered in Mexico to the extreme hybrids of today, different countries have completely transformed the collecting and cultivation of Crassulaceae.
In this series, we explore how California, Korea, Europe, and China redefined the modern market for variegated succulents.
Many of the data, stories, and connections we share here stem from our own experience within the industry, years of observing the evolution of the market, and conversations with collectors and international producers. Some parts of the modern history of succulents are not fully documented, and there are sometimes different versions regarding certain hybrids, dates, or origins.
If you detect any incorrect information or want to provide additional information about this market evolution, we would be happy to hear from you and continue expanding this series.
If you want to expand your collection, you can explore our variegated succulents, as well as variegated aeonium, rare succulents and classic variegated selected for collectors.
Follow us on Instagram to see new arrivals and restocks:
