Echeveria Neon Breakers – Grow this Amazing Succulent for Great Color

Echeveria Neon Breakers is a Renee O’Donnell hybrid of the succulent Pink Frills crossed with an unknown parent.

It is a drought tolerant succulent with green leaves that have pretty pink frilly edges and deep margins.

Succulents like echeveria are drought smart plants that are super easy to grow, easy to repot, and make fantastic houseplants.  Be sure to check out my tips for how to care for succulents.

Where to purchase Echeveria Neon Breaker

This post may contain affiliate links. I earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you if you purchase through an affiliate link.

Check the garden center of both Lowe’s and Home Depot. I found my plant at a small local garden center.  The Farmer’s market is also a great place to purchase succulents. The plant is also available online:

• Echeveria Neon Breaker at Mountain Crest Gardens. (my favorite supplier of succulents, online.
• Echeveria Neon Breaker on Etsy
• Echeveria Neon Breaker at Altman Plants

If you love succulents as much as I do, you will want to check out my guide for buying succulents. It tells what to look for, what to avoid and where to find succulent plants for sale.

This pretty succulent is very popular for many reasons. It has highly colored leaf margins, especially when the plant gets ample sunlight.

It is also more resistant to pests that the normal echeveria and it a fast grower. Another popular feature of echeveria neon breaker is that it is a continuous grower with no apparent dormant season when grown outdoors in hotter zones or as a house plant.

Plant Name and Family

• Family:  Crassulaceae
• Genus: Echeveria
• Cultivar: ‘Neon Breakers’

Tips for Growing Echeveria Neon Breakers

Watering Needs

Echeveria Neon Breakers is drought tolerant once established.  Water thoroughly and then allow to try out to the touch before you water again.

The plant will benefit from a bit of extra watering in the hottest weather to prevent the leaves from shriveling.   

Sunlight

This succulent needs very bright light to keep the colorful leaf margins.  In lower light situations “etiolation” will happen  (stretching of a plant towards this light)

This is characterized by very long stems that are weak and have small leaves. The color will also weaken.

The plant does best with morning sun with some protection from the hot afternoon sun.  

The color of the leaf margins are the brightest if you can find a spot where the plant gets continuous bright light during the day.  My plant shows narrow leaf margins.

Mature plants that get just the right amount of sunlight develop very deep leaf margins. However, too much direct sunlight in very hot climates will cause the leaves to burn and scar.

This image was taken at the Pasadena Botanical Garden’s entry. It shows the magnificence of the colors but also is a good example of too much sunlight causing damage.

Soil

In their natural habitat, Echeverias often grow on the sides of mountains in rocky areas at higher altitudes. In this type of habitat, the water will quickly drain away from the roots of the plant, so that it never gets waterlogged.

Well draining soil is a must with this succulent. It definitely does not like wet feet. 

Choose a porous succulent potting mix which will allow for quick draining of water. (affiliate link)

Flower color

The plant has pink and magenta flowers but mine has not flowered yet, so I don’t have a photo from my plant. The plant blooms in late summer and early fall.

This photo was kindly shared by Kathy Smith on Instagram (@justkathyslife). Kathy said the flowers were on a two FOOT stalk with the blooms cascading off the end. I can’t wait for mine to flower.  I’m so jealous!

Thank you so much for sharing this Kathy!

Here is another example of the plant in full flower. This one is again from the Pasadena Botanical Gardens.

Leaves

The leaves of Echeveria Neon Breaker form rosettes. They have waxy, crinkled edges with pale blue green centers and bright pink margins.

The plant can form a rosette up to 8 inches in diameter and will grow to about 5 inches tall in the right conditions.

The outer leaves of the succulent are larger and longer than the inner leaves which leads to a pretty rosette shape. 

The center of the rosette has the most curly petals and very bright margins.  As the mature leaves age, they discolor slightly.  Clean up the plant by removing old leaves.

Cold Hardiness

This succulent is a tender perennial, which means that it will only over winter in the warmer zones.  It must be protected from frost which can easily cause scarring of the leaves. 

Heavy frost will kill the plant so it is better grown as an indoor plant in colder zones. Also be sure to check out my list of cold hardy succulent plants for other varieties to grow in colder zones.

Uses

Echeveria Neon Breaker looks lovely in rock gardens if you live in the warmer hardiness zones. It makes a great patio plant and looks pretty in dish gardens and open terrariums. 

It is small and can be planted in all sorts of containers from clay pots to small watering cans and tea cups. 

(See more succulent planter ideas here.) This succulent will attract hummingbirds. The large rosettes of Echeveria Neon Breaker are also ideal for bridal bouquets.

Repotting.

When the plant becomes root bound, repot in a pot that is 1/3 size larger.  Remove the dead leaves around the edges to prevent pest and diseases.

If you re-pot immediately after purchasing the plant to get a same size but prettier container, be sure to inspect the plant carefully.

Often nursery plants will have pests that can infect other plants in your collection.

Propagation

This plant is patented. Some retail labels on Echeveria Neon Breaker pots state that propagation is prohibited.  Strictly speaking, this means that the only way to propagate it would be through natural pollination.

The plant will not come true from seed if it is a hybrid.

However, this stipulation seems a bit odd to me, since natural propagation can occur when the plant drops its leaves and they root in the nearby soil.  Removing old leaves would be the only way to make sure that you never propagate this succulent.

Does this stipulation mean that you can’t propagate the leaves for personal use? I’ll leave that up to you.  Does this mean that you can’t SELL the plants you grow from leaf propagation or the babies that develop. 

Yes, absolutely, this is prohibited.  My guess is that the echeveria police won’t invade your home and send you to jail if you root a few leaves. 😉 

That being said, the plant roots easily from leaves and will also send out offsets that form clumps which can be re-potted. This succulent is an original hybrid of Altman Plants who have it for sale at the moment.

Echeveria Neon Breakers is a tolerant plant that is easy to care for.  It’s brilliant colors will brightens your garden both indoors and out.

 

Share on Social Media