Aeoniums - why own them?

Aeoniums come from the Canary Islands, Madeira, Morocco and the Eastern coast of Africa. They vary in size, colours and form, from branching to clumping. They are sadly monocarpic - in other words, they flower, set seed and then die. So to keep them going, we need to take cuttings to propagate.

There is very good advice on how to do this that you can easily find on the web, so I won't go into detail, but I do recommend surrealsucculents.co.uk, one of my favourite sites for succulents since I met them at the Hampton Court Flower Show.

Aeoniums vary in size enormously from a few cm to my Aeonium urbicum, capable of growing to 1m in height. Most are however modest in size, and many will even tolerate winter outside too. They can very colourful like this Aeonium 'Firecracker' below.

The most important lesson I learnt with Aeoniums is water them sparingly, especially in summer, when they tend to go dormant - they do like to siesta! Infact they thrive on neglect, letting the soil dry out between watering for longer makes their colours more vibrant and the plant stronger. Otherwise, if you overwater, as I did once, it will rot the plant. Their main growing season is spring and autumn when you can feed and water them a bit more.

There are so many natural cultivars and man-made hybrids, it is difficult to know where to start with Aeoniums. Surreal Succulents lists over 70 and it is as good a place as any to look & see what you like. I will share with you my 2 favourites and ones we can all aspire to.

1. Aeonium urbicum

Ok, we confess we love this one as it grows to an enormous size of 1m eventually. It is single-stemmed and produces creamy yellow cone-shaped flowers. Mine is only small around 15cm, so a long way to go to reach those dizzy heights!

2. Aeonium 'Mardi Gras'

I like this affordable variegated red Aeonium that produces branches of rosettes and a nice clump. Put it out in the sun in summer as it loves it and the burgundy colour will become more intense. As always, let it dry between watering and make sure it is well drained to prevent rot.

From these cultivars and hybrids, many others are produced that can fetch ridiculous prices as below. Welcome to the world of rare hybrids!

3. Aeonium ×Semponium ‘Sienna’

This outstandingly beautiful intergeneric hybrid is the world's first official cross between a Sempervivum ‘Green Ice’ and Aeonium ‘Ice Warrior’ from Surreal Succulents, shown at Chelsea 2021. It has no dormancy period and grows vigorously. Why is it aspirational? It costs £35-£50 for a single rosette! If you can afford this and more, then look at this 'supermodel' Aeonium below: Aeonium 'Superbang" is a rare variegated hybrid that costs a mere £65!

Please don't be put off as most Aeoniums are cheap (infact 65 0f 78 on the site are less than £10 and many can be found in shops for just a few pounds). So do consider adding Aeoniums to your collection as they definitely deserve a place on the easy care shelf (and your garden in summer).

I end, as always, with a bad pun:

How can you recognise this succulent?

Aeonium when I see one!

Till next time 👦🏻♥️🌵