Aeonium
Almost everything written about succulents is wrong for this one. Aeoniums come from the Canaries, where the growing season is the cool damp winter and the rest is the baking summer — so they want water from September to May and almost none in July, which is exactly the opposite of the advice on the label.
Get that one thing right and they are easy. They ask for the brightest place you have, a gritty mix in a wide shallow pot, and a winter spent cool and dry rather than warm — a heated room in January is what produces a bare stem with a small pale rosette on top.
Care
Full sun outdoors in summer, and the brightest place you have in winter — the dark forms lose their colour in shade and go green.
Backwards to most succulents: water through autumn, winter and spring, and keep almost dry in high summer.
Free-draining and lean — roughly half grit, half peat-free or loam-based compost. Aeoniums are shallow-rooted and happier in a wide pan than a deep pot, and they will not sit in wet compost through a British winter without rotting at the base.
Behead a stretched or bare-stemmed rosette in spring and re-root the top; the stump breaks into several heads and makes a better plant than the original. Remove the dry papery leaves that skirt the stems only if you dislike them — they do no harm.
A half-strength balanced feed once or twice during active growth in spring, and nothing at all in summer dormancy. Fed hard, an aeonium makes large soft rosettes on weak stems that flop and snap.
About the easiest succulent to increase: a stem cutting of a rosette with 5-10cm of stem, left to callus for a few days and then set in dry gritty mix, roots within a few weeks in spring or autumn. Leaf cuttings rarely work on this genus — take stems.
Month by month
Months change with the climate: in southern Italy tomatoes go out two months earlier than in England.
- MarchActive growth: water thoroughly whenever the mix has dried right through. how ›
- MarchBehead leggy rosettes and re-root the tops; the old stump will branch. how ›
- AprilA single half-strength feed as growth is strongest; nothing after this. how ›
- MayMove outside once nights are reliably above 5°C, hardening off over two weeks so the leaves don't scorch. how ›
- JulySummer rest: the rosettes close up and curl inwards. Water very little — this is normal, not thirst. how ›
- SeptemberTake stem cuttings as growth resumes; they root fastest now. how ›
- OctoberBring under cover before the first frost — cool, bright and dry, not warm. how ›
- DecemberKeep watering lightly: unlike most succulents this one is growing now. how ›
Months based on climate: UK. Your choice stays on this device.
- MarchActive growth: water thoroughly whenever the mix has dried right through. how ›
- MarchBehead leggy rosettes and re-root the tops; the old stump will branch. how ›
- AprilA single half-strength feed as growth is strongest; nothing after this. how ›
- AprilMove outside once nights are reliably above 5°C, hardening off over two weeks so the leaves don't scorch. how ›
- JulySummer rest: the rosettes close up and curl inwards. Water very little — this is normal, not thirst. how ›
- SeptemberTake stem cuttings as growth resumes; they root fastest now. how ›
- OctoberBring under cover before the first frost — cool, bright and dry, not warm. how ›
- DecemberKeep watering lightly: unlike most succulents this one is growing now. how ›
Months based on climate: Northern Italy. Your choice stays on this device.
- FebruaryActive growth: water thoroughly whenever the mix has dried right through. how ›
- FebruaryBehead leggy rosettes and re-root the tops; the old stump will branch. how ›
- MarchA single half-strength feed as growth is strongest; nothing after this. how ›
- AprilMove outside once nights are reliably above 5°C, hardening off over two weeks so the leaves don't scorch. how ›
- JulySummer rest: the rosettes close up and curl inwards. Water very little — this is normal, not thirst. how ›
- SeptemberTake stem cuttings as growth resumes; they root fastest now. how ›
- NovemberBring under cover before the first frost — cool, bright and dry, not warm. how ›
- DecemberKeep watering lightly: unlike most succulents this one is growing now. how ›
Months based on climate: Central Italy. Your choice stays on this device.
- FebruaryActive growth: water thoroughly whenever the mix has dried right through. how ›
- FebruaryBehead leggy rosettes and re-root the tops; the old stump will branch. how ›
- MarchA single half-strength feed as growth is strongest; nothing after this. how ›
- MarchMove outside once nights are reliably above 5°C, hardening off over two weeks so the leaves don't scorch. how ›
- JulySummer rest: the rosettes close up and curl inwards. Water very little — this is normal, not thirst. how ›
- OctoberTake stem cuttings as growth resumes; they root fastest now. how ›
- NovemberBring under cover before the first frost — cool, bright and dry, not warm. how ›
- DecemberKeep watering lightly: unlike most succulents this one is growing now. how ›
Months based on climate: Southern Italy and islands. Your choice stays on this device.
Common problems
How to spot it. The base of the stem goes soft and brown and the rosette topples.
What to do. Cut well above the rot, let the top callus and re-root it. Keep the mix dry and the crown off wet compost.
How to spot it. Long bare stem with a small pale rosette on top.
What to do. Too little light, usually from a warm dark winter indoors. Behead and re-root in spring, and give more light.
How to spot it. The plant lifts away with no roots left.
What to do. Check the rootball when repotting; use nematodes in late summer on pot-grown plants.
How to spot it. A rosette produces a tall cone of yellow flowers and then dies.
What to do. Normal — that rosette is monocarpic. Take cuttings from the others before it flowers.
Popular varieties
Questions
Aeonium: is it hardy?
H1c: Tender, needs above 5°C. It survives above 5 °C.
Can it grow in a pot?
Yes — this is essentially a pot plant in Britain, outdoors from May to October and under cover for the winter. Cornwall and the far south west grow them in the ground.
Aeonium: when do you prune it?
Behead a stretched or bare-stemmed rosette in spring and re-root the top; the stump breaks into several heads and makes a better plant than the original. In the calendar for UK, pruning falls in March.
Aeonium: when does it flower?
In the climate of UK it flowers in March–May.
When do you feed it?
A half-strength balanced feed once or twice during active growth in spring, and nothing at all in summer dormancy. Fed hard, an aeonium makes large soft rosettes on weak stems that flop and snap. Feeding months, UK: March–April.