Pictures we want pictures,please.
Kathi

As the Beach Boys said, 'Sun, sun, sun....". Echeveria will loose their color with lower light levels. In addition, those with "lumps and bumps" will grow with less or no carbuncles and less wave to the leaf edge with lower light. For me, winter really is my worse season for my Echeveria! If you want nice color, place it out in full sun from dawn to dusk. I would gradually ease it out there so it doesn't get sunburn.

This post was edited by bikerdoc5968 on Fri, Jun 14, 13 at 8:30

If it was the Echeveria that looks somewhat like 'Topsy Turvy' (I've only only a couple references to 'Surf' pix), its color may change through the year & depend if it's in sun or shade. Do you have a photo of your plant to share with us?

Pic below. You can see that the oldest rosette leaves, now senescing, are a dark purple.

Yes, I've moved it outside to an east exposure, where it gets morning sun. After another few days, I will move again to a southern exposure, where it will get high shade.

This is my first upload, so if I screw up, just let me know!

...not one of the spray-painted ones, is it?

I think Rina nailed it... I think you'll be unhappy to learn you were misled, but happy the plant is outgrowing its former mutilated state.

Sorry to say this is a painted plant and NOT its normal appearance. It is Echeveria runyonii 'Topsy Turvy'. It will always grow as pictured. More sun tends to "bleach" it to a lighter color. It will get large orange flowers. It tends to pup rather easily giving the stem a false crested look. It becomes hard to appreciate the main head.

If you search this site, you will find photos of spray painted succulents...what a shame.
(or check this link -did yours looked like that?)

click here

Your plant will be very nice if you provide the right growing conditions. Here is a close-up of mine E. Topsy Turvy planter last summer (don't mind the bright-green seedlings, that's some 'volunteers'-Jewels of Opar) and the close-up of flowers earlier this spring:

Rina

This post was edited by rina_ on Wed, Jun 19, 13 at 22:41

Interesting...when I had 'Topsy Turvy', my blooms did not look like yours, Rina. They were like the ones below (clickable & not c. links), where the bloom's petals are separated:

http://www.pendernursery.com/Images/Echiveria-Topsy-flowers.jpg

Jacque, sorry you were fooled by the pretty spray paint practice. :(

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:574000}}

Rosemarie

It bloomed number of times, but they always look the same. Don't have many photos, here is one from last Aug.

Are they like that since opening - or maybe when they get 'older' and about to finish? or maybe it's your cali sun?
I will pay more attention when it blooms again.

One more photo of the most recent blooms - I also noticed that I don't seem to have as many flowers on the stalk as they are on photo from rosemarie.

Rina

Rina, sorry it took so long to get back to this. =) I was sidetracked, as usual!

Here is one of my 'Topsy Turvy' from long ago. One bloom pic shows the exploded petal look. I still do not know if this is considered normal. Other pix aren't so clear & buds haven't opened yet. They also look like they may have aphids on them. :( Hard to say. Anyway, yet another example of some variation of these guys!

Click for larger view:

{{gwi:574005}} {{gwi:574006}} {{gwi:574007}}

Rosemarie

Thank you for photos, I'll definitely pay more attention when mine blooms again. Even the rosette on yours looks 'tighter' than any of mine after being outside...Rina

Hmmm, I did think of artificial coloration. So I rubbed the leaf, and it didn't come off. Also, you can't see it in the pic above, but on some of the new leaves, the little points on the ends are definitely purple. See below. And I definitely did not paint those, my hands are not that steady!

I wondered whether you could use colored water to change/intensify an echeveria's color. Or maybe someone got carried away with touching the leaves up to match the little points...

ETA: Rina, your link didn't work for me.

This post was edited by jacqueinthegorge on Tue, Jun 18, 13 at 20:02

Rina, mine were tighter because they were on the SOS program. =)
The code for your link is missing a forward slash, I think (?), so here it is again for Rina's slide show:
http://s1168.photobucket.com/user/Rina_TO/slideshow/paint-sprayed%20succulents

Jacque, what does ETA mean? We might add it to our list of terms & acronyms used here.
I'm curious now to see what grows from that little purple blob! Is this coming off a loose leaf? That is bizarre, if you couldn't rub off the purple. A mystery!!

ETA - edited to add - I edited my original post to include the note to Rina.

The little growth is on one of the lower rosette leaves, If you squint real hard, you can see it on the first pic I posted, on your left as you are facing your screen (that's the one I enlarged) and also one on your right. Several other leaves have them as well. I *think* these little blobs are all on the lower leaves, but I could be wrong.

These leaves are slightly heart-shaped at the tip, and the purple growths are in the cleft. Some people thought that my "Surf" was actually "Topsy-Turvy", but the pics of T-T show definite single spine-lke projections at the tips of all the leaves, and not the small "purple blobs" that my plant has on at least some of its leaves. (Until someone comes up with a better name, purple blob is now the technical term!) Although my plant has the spine-like projections on the upper rosette leaves.

At any rate, it is a handsome plant, and if someone tampered with it, that's not the plant's fault!

Oh wow! That is bizarre ~your little purple blob. I would wait to see what develops from it, maybe calling it a growth or leaf, if it ever looks like one. So odd that it is purple! Maybe this is how it got its "surf" name!

OK, I will update as things occur.

A flower stalk is definitely forming, will be interesting to see what the flowers will look like.