Aeonium

They reward our efforts with gorgeous spoon shaped foliage in shades of burgundy and green, sometimes variegated with splashes of palest gold.

Aeonium are native to the Canary Islands and North Africa, so you may be able to guess their preferred conditions - warm, or even hot would be the key word. The name means 'evergreen' so this is a plant that never loses its leaves – until after it blooms that is.

Climates that are similar to their native lands such as in California these incredible plants can give some formidable impact to the landscaping.

See the plant that Colleen found when she moved to her new home in San Jose. The flower spike alone is over 2 meters tall.

The pink, red, yellow or white flowers form from the middle of the rosette in spring or summer, after which the rosette will die. Hopefully, you will have propagated some rosettes to take its place.

Some Aeonium will form a fairly tall stand of rosettes of green, dark burgundy or variegated foliage each on the top of a slender stalk. The leaves are spoon-shaped, sometimes glossy, and occasionally matte.

They can reach a height of a meter, or less than 15cm, depending on the variety. Other species and varieties are suitable for mixed planters and succulent crafts as they tend to be more compact.

Easy to propagate, just remove a rosette with a piece of stem and allow to callous overnight and the stem end can be planted into a pot.

Aeonium Growing Requirements

Minimum temperatures are about 4 degrees Celsius, and Aeonium can’t take any frost, so a sheltered or indoors environment only for this plant. It requires good ventilation, and bright light – full sun is fine, or partial shade.

Aeonium prefer a little more moisture in the soil than many other succulent plants. Water as soon as the soil is dry, but don’t allow it to dry too much.

Gear the watering to the temperature; the cooler the weather, the less you need to water. Use tempered or lukewarm water to avoid shocking the roots.

Preferred soil is well drained, sandy and slightly acid to neutral, so don’t add any lime to the soil mix.

The botanical term 'arboretum' refers to a tree like form, so this plant will get quite big. Luckily, beheading the rosettes to grow new plants will encourage more buds to break lower down, making it bushier.

Smaller in stature than the two purple varieties shown here, it will form a short clump rather than the tree like form of the others. The same conditions of soil and water apply.

Rightfully popular, even after all this time with its glossy foliage and bossy attitude.

Regular beheading will keep Aeonium 'Schwartzkopf' in bounds and give you a supply of new plants to replace the aging rosette when it blooms.

See what other satisfied Aeonium owners have said

pink yellow and green rosettes there is something wrong with my plant

Drought Smart Plants reply:

From what I can see, this is a perfectly healthy specimen of Aeonium haworthia ...

Randomly Bought Plant I bought a plant from the local market and it has fat dark green leaves.

The newer leaves are a shade of light green. On the outside edges of the leaves,...

large green succulents These grow in somewhere Carmel Highlands. They are giant solitary yellow-green succulents with shallow bowl shaped appearance and almost no stalk. I ...

An Irish Bouquet? Hi!
I just brought home a new succulent that is labeled "Irish Bouquet" by the company that sold it, but I can't find any other information about it anywhere ...

Tiny and Mango, Banana and Peach Leaves Yum yum - sounds delicious, and looks just as nice.

I love this little Aeonium, it's so forgiving of my terrible plant growing methods. I underwater ...

Thin long palm, succulent plant on top Thin long palm succulent plant on top consisting of rounded leaves with pointed tips, look like a rosette, lots of baby ones at base of plant.

Drought ...

green cabbage center and maroon outside leaves green cabbage center and maroon outside leaves

Drought Smart Plants reply:

Hi Sherry, you have one of my all time favorite plants - this is one ...

i have two in one pot, and they're growing very well Both hearty and healthy seemingly.
One of them is starting to sprout thin white string-type growths off the leaves underneath. I'm wondering what types ...

I'm not sure if this is Echeveria But I figured you could at least tell me more about what this could be. I picked this up at a flower shop here in Houston, Tx over the weekend because ...

What is this plant in our new home? Large green rosettes with rounded burgundy edges. Large (18") yellow flower spike. Over 7' tall. How does it propagate?

Drought Smart Plants reply:...

Floral arrangement of leaves I guess this is a common plant.
Yet, our tourist-resort-owner had said, it just won't survive the plains ... fingers crossed.

Drought Smart Plants ...

3 Succulent Cuttings Forms a small branching plant, was about 12inches high we had an accident with the original but I now have 3 cuttings which are doing fine. Each about ...

Growing at the "Pixie" Restaurant in Aptos CA Unusual for it's yellow color.
Small, beautiful. Growing right near the ocean.

Thanks, I love it, and am soooooo tempted to take a cutting. I hope ...

Unidentified Succulent I bought this succulent yesterday. The green leaves grow in clusters. The stem had several roots reaching down from the stem into the soil. It is 5" tall....