Echeveria lilacina, also known as the ghost Echeveria, hails from Nuevo Leon in northern Mexico, Central America. The plant is also a native Texan.
Its botanical name, Echeveria lilacina, comes from its dusty leaves carrying a lilac hue.

Like all Echeveria types, these perennial succulent plants are members of the family Crassulaceae (krass-yoo-LAY-see-ee) and the subfamily Sedoideae.
Echeveria Lilacina Quick Care Tips
- Botanical Name: Echeveria Lilacina
- Common Name(s): Ghost Echeveria,
- Synonyms: Echeveria ‘Lilacina,’ Echeveria ‘Dusty Rose’
- Pronunciation: Ech-eh-VER-ee-a ly-las-SY-nuh
- Family & Origin: Crassulaceae family, native to Central America, Mexico, Nuevo Leon
- Growability: Easy to grow
- Grow Zone: USDA zones 10-11
- Size: Grows up to 8″-10″ inches tall and 1′ foot wide.
- Flowering: Produces fragrant, coral, or pale pink flowers in late winter to early spring
- Light: Grows well in full sun or very light partial shade; ideal when kept indoors in a bright sunny window
- Humidity: Prefers 20% to 40% humidity levels
- Temperature: Thrives in temperatures daily temperatures between 68°– 80° degrees Fahrenheit
- Soil: Well-draining, porous soil or prepared succulent potting soil or cactus mix
- Water: Water monthly when the soil is dry to the touch
- Fertilizer: Fertilize with water-soluble liquid fertilizer with a low to medium nitrogen content once a month during the growing season
- Pests & Diseases: Susceptible to mealybugs, fungus gnats, spider mites, scale insects, and root rot
- Propagation: Propagate through stem or leaf cuttings or seeds
- Plant Uses: Great for indoor or outdoor decoration, container plants can be used in succulent arrangements or as standalone plants.
Echeveria Lilacina Care
How Big Does Lilacina Growth
This slow-growing echeveria seldom attains a height greater than 6″ inches. In ideal settings, the plant may grow to 8″-10″ inches tall with a spread of up to 1′ foot.
The spoon-shaped, fleshy leaves of the Echeveria lilacina plant are an attractive shade of silvery grey that takes on a more lilac hue during the cooler months of autumn.

More sun will also deepen the lavender/purplish color. The leaves grow in a symmetrical rosette shape reaching widths 10″-12″ inches across.
Flowering & Fragrance
The lilacina ghost echeveria produces fragrant, coral, or pale pink flowers at the end of short, arching, reddish stems.
The plant may flower at any time from late winter to early spring.
Light Conditions & Temperature Needs
As with most succulent Echeveria plants and cacti, lilacina Echeverias like plenty of sunlight and warmth. The plant is winter hardy in USDA hardiness zone 10-11.
Outdoors it does well in full sun or very light partial shade. Kept indoors, a bright sunny window is the ideal light condition.
Generally speaking, more sun exposure produces better performance, brighter colors, and stronger, sturdier leaves and stems.
Moreover, this plant prefers daily temperatures between 68°– 80° degrees Fahrenheit and night temperatures between 50° – 70° degrees Fahrenheit.
Echeveria Watering & Feeding Requirements
Take care to water from below only when the soil is nearly dry.

It’s recommended to avoid getting water in the leaves and never allow water to sit on the rosette.
Related: Learn Tips on Echeveria Water Requirements
Moreover, this succulent prefers humidity levels ranging between 20% to 40%.
During the spring and summer months, fertilize Echeveria lilacina using a water-soluble liquid fertilizer with a low to medium nitrogen content.
Follow the packaging instructions carefully.
Do not add fertilize during the winter months.
Soil and Transplanting
The best soil to use with the Echeveria lilacina succulent is a prepared succulent potting soil or cactus mix.
Any soil you use should be porous and well-drained.
The plant produces offsets from time to time. When this happens, separate them from the mother plant and repot the whole plant. Repotting is best done early in the spring.
Wait until the soil dries completely, and then take the plant and its offsets from the pot.

Knock the dry soil away from the roots and check the roots for dead or rotten spots. Cut away these areas, and treat the cuts with fungicide.
At this point, either leave the plants out exposed to air for a minimum of 24 hours or up to a week. Repot into fresh, dry potting mix suitable for cactus or succulents.
If you repot immediately, withhold water for about a week. Once this time passes, begin watering lightly.
Grooming & Maintenance
Lower leaves die off naturally from time to time. When this happens, remove them promptly.
Dead leaves create hiding places for pests such as mealybugs and aphids.
How To Propagate Echeveria Lilacina Ghost
Echeveria does not produce large numbers of offsets. Some individual plants may remain solitary throughout their lives. Plants can also be started from seeds or leaf cuttings.

If the plant produces pups, separate them from the parent plant and plant them in individual pots or garden spaces per the repotting instructions above.
Lilacina Ghost Echeveria Pest or Diseases
Like all plants in the genus Echeveria, they are easy to grow and care for as long as you:
- Have a light touch with the water
- Provide plenty of warmth, sunlight
- Plant in well-draining cactus soil.
Excess water or moisture leads to fungal disease and rot, which will kill your plant.
Provide good ventilation and adequate spacing to allow for good airflow around the plants.
This single step will minimize the risks of fungal and bacterial infections and pest infestation.
Be especially vigilant against high humidity during cool weather.
Cacti and succulents are generally pest free as long as you maintain a healthy environment.

Too much water, too little sun, or exposure to contaminated plants can lead to infestation by the usual suspects:
- Fungus Gnats
- Spider mites
- Mealybugs
- Root mealybugs
- Scale insects
For more in-depth information, read our article on common succulent pests.
What Pests Or Diseases Attack Echeveria Plants?
Is This Plant Toxic or Poisonous?
According to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), very similar varieties, Blue Echeveria plants are non-toxic, which is quite likely to apply to Ghost Echeveria.
Even so, keep your pets, kids, and plants safe by limiting access.
Is This Plant Invasive?
This slow-growing succulent plant is not considered invasive.
Suggested Ghost Echeveria Uses
Echeveria Lilacina Ghost is suitable as a houseplant in all climates.
It does well as a container or patio plant or set out into the garden during warmer weather and brought indoors to overwinter during the year’s cold months.
This species of Echeveria is quite drought tolerant. In USDA hardiness zones 10-11, it does well in xeriscaping and will grow happily on rocky outcroppings.