Echeveria cristata

I was given this cristate plant about six months ago and so far, it's done well even though they have a reputation for being difficult to grow. I learned a few seasons ago that the furry Echeveria family gets sunburned very easily and they end up looking like they are covered in scabs or they just die so I always keep them in the shade and that seems to have worked so far.

Cristate forms of succulents are plants that have had the apical meristem damaged and it's quite rare for this to occur naturally so these freaky plants were highly prized by succulent collectors. Usually, natural damage to the meristem is caused by insects or viruses but horticulturists have perfected a process to produce cristate forms commercially, usually by using a hot wire to damage the meristem. I'm a little conflicted about the idea of mutilating plants to sell them and this isn't something I would have gone out and bought but I kind of like it now that I have it.

This picture was taken six months ago, the damaged meristem was much tighter but as you can see in the first picture, it is gradually separating into separate growth points, each of which is still cristate

I didn't take pictures of the side view because it is obscured by the leaves but that is still developing the characteristic fan shape instead of stems with branches