How to grow and propagate Aeoniums

Here we cover what to expect from Aeoniums in spring, from propagation to general growing tips, for experienced growers and newcomers alike. If you have grown Aeoniums yourself, we would be very grateful for your comments, as they help other readers grow these plants.

Colour change

Our Aeoniums come back to life and start to change colour as winter turns to spring and the warm winds return.

As soon as we get a full day of sun, the colours really begin to transform. Aeonium ‘Blushing Beauty’, for example, turns from lime green to an orangey pink. Dark-leafed varieties like Aeonium ‘Schwarzkopf’ start the spring with green rosettes, then darken to the almost black they are best known for as light levels increase.

Coming out of winter

Knowing how spring affects your Aeoniums helps you decide what to do next, whether that is repotting, taking cuttings, feeding or watering. The extra light is what they have been missing all winter, and the sun gives them the energy to grow. After the uncertain winter months, we can be confident that they will respond well to whatever we do with them, so spring is the time to tackle all of these jobs, from taking cuttings to potting them on into larger containers.

Rescuing Aeoniums from winter darkness

Aeoniums can suffer over winter for several reasons, including low light, overwatering, poor airflow and pests. Don’t give up on them. If there is still life in the plant, it has a good chance of recovering fully.

The spring sun is what brings an Aeonium back to its natural shape and colour, and our tried and tested potting-on techniques will encourage fresh, healthy growth.

A piece of white horticultural fleece laid over top of a group of green plants, to protect them from cold temperatures.

Late frosts

Spring may have arrived, but winter can still have a sting in its tail, so keep an eye on the forecasts. There’s nothing worse than being caught out by a late frost that could kill or damage your special Aeoniums. If you are planting or moving Aeoniums outdoors, wait until the risk of frost has completely passed. Depending on where you live, that might be mid-April in the south of the UK, or well into May or even June the further north you go. If you do move them outside early, keep some fleece handy in case the weather turns colder.

Weather

Other weather can affect how your Aeoniums look, too. Hailstones can leave marks or scars on the leaves. The damage is only superficial and will eventually grow out, but it spoils the look of the plant for a while.

Spring rain isn’t usually a problem, as the plants take what they need. As long as you use a good, free-draining soil mix, you shouldn’t see any root rot.

Heatwaves are becoming more likely with climate change, and they can harm an Aeonium by upsetting its natural dormancy. Summer heat naturally sends Aeoniums into dormancy, so an unusual heatwave in spring can trigger dormancy early and confuse the plant in the middle of its growing season. During a spring heatwave, it’s worth moving your Aeonium to a cooler part of the garden and taking care not to overwater it.

Sunburn

Sunburn is a common problem on Aeoniums. It usually happens when plants are moved suddenly from shade into direct sun, especially in strong spring sunshine, and the leaves blister in the same way early spring sun can burn our skin. To avoid it, increase their exposure to direct sun gradually. During the hours of strongest sun, usually between 11am and 3pm, give them shade by placing them near a wall or under the canopy of another plant, or cover them with fleece. After 10 days your Aeonium should be acclimatised.

Propagation

There’s no better feeling than creating your own plants, and early spring is the best time to do it. Aeoniums can be grown from leaf cuttings, stem cuttings or even seed. Each method has its advantages, but stem cuttings are by far the quickest and easiest.

Step 1

Look for a nice healthy rosette with a stem of roughly 10cm (longer or shorter is fine too). Take a sharp pair of garden snips and make a clean cut 10cm down from the rosette. You can use an older stem or a softer, greener one. At this time of year it doesn’t matter, as both will root very quickly. Leave the cutting to dry out in a cool, bright, frost-free place with good airflow, but keep it out of direct sunlight, which puts unwanted stress on it.

Step 2

After 5-10 days, the cut end will have calloused over. The callus stops bacteria getting into the open wound once the cutting is planted, and stops rot running up the stem. You can dip the cutting in rooting hormone to speed up rooting.

Step 3

Take a pot no bigger than 7cm and fill it with peat-free compost mixed with 40% horticultural sand or perlite. The smaller the pot the better, as it improves airflow around the stem, which oxygenates the roots and stimulates them to grow. Poke a hole and bury the cutting ¾ of the way into the compost, leaving a gap between the bottom layer of leaves and the compost so that air can get underneath the leaves.

Step 4

Now put the cutting somewhere warm with plenty of airflow, but out of direct sunshine. Keep the soil damp but not wet, and after 6 weeks you will have a brand new plant ready to move into a larger pot. Aeoniums want to grow. Give them room to spread their roots and take in nutrients and water during the growing season, and you will see the difference.

Potting on

With smaller cuttings, we find the quickest way to get them to a good size is to increase the pot size gradually. If your cutting has rooted to the sides of a 7cm pot, for example, its next pot can be a 1-litre pot. From there, use our “times by 3” potting-on method, which Aeoniums love.

Once the roots are touching the sides of the 1-litre pot, move up to a 3-litre pot. When it has rooted into the 3-litre pot, “times by 3” again and jump up to a 9 or 10-litre pot. An Aeonium should reach full maturity in a 10-litre pot, but some varieties can go on into a 20-litre pot if needed.

Pests

Warmer weather brings out the pests. When you grow Aeoniums outside in spring and summer, natural predators usually deal with them: wasps and ladybirds eat aphids, and birds pick out mealybugs. Heavy rain can also wash aphids away.

In spring, most vine weevil damage is done by the adults. These beetle-like insects come out after dark to nibble the edges of the leaves, and we found that by going out at night we could easily pick them off the plants.

We typically find one vine weevil per plant, and each adult can lay up to 500 eggs, so it is well worth taking a torch out into the garden to stop an infestation spreading.

Slugs and snails may nibble Aeoniums when they are first planted in a garden, but they tend to lose interest over time. If you have a lot of slugs and snails, nematodes can reduce their numbers, or you can go out on a damp evening and remove them by hand. Don’t just throw them over the wall, though. Take them at least 2 miles away, as they can find their way back to your garden within their lifetime.

For pests in general, we think removing them by hand is the best and safest method, with no need for chemicals. Get yourself a fine pair of tweezers and a bit of determination, and you can clear them yourself.

As well as commercial soapy sprays, there are plenty of homemade remedies that deter pests, and many recipes are available online. If you have one of your own, please share it in the comments to help other readers.

Feeding

Proper watering and feeding keep Aeoniums healthy, and if you want more vigorous growth, they respond well to extra feed.

A simple, effective feed is chicken manure pellets scattered over the soil surface, which Aeoniums take up readily. You can also use liquid seaweed feed or a slow-release fertiliser, but only use a slow-release fertiliser once the Aeonium has strong, established roots.

Watering

In spring, let the soil dry out completely between waterings. Outdoors, how long that takes depends on the weather, and if rain is forecast for the week you don’t need to water Aeoniums grown outside, as they will take what they need. In a heatwave, move your Aeonium to a shady spot so that you can keep watering it to encourage growth. If it stays in full sun, hold off watering, as watering then can confuse the plant and lead to stem rot, especially in varieties that are prone to it.

Creating displays

Aeoniums are among the best plants for making a display. They are drought-tolerant and low-maintenance, and they come in a wide range of colours, sizes and forms, which makes them easy to work with.

Planting up a pot full of Aeoniums is very rewarding. When choosing your plants, think about balance, colour and form.

Here, we have used these Aeoniums to create a balanced planting display.

Or create a dramatic focal point with a single plant that deserves its own spotlight.

Aeoniums can even be planted out in the garden for the summer and lifted again in winter. With good quality plants and a bit of imagination, you can do a lot with them.

Flowering

Aeoniums produce flower stems carrying thousands of small flowers, each full of nectar. Most Aeonium flowers are yellow, but some are white, pink or deep red. Flowering starts in winter and gets going as the weather warms and pollinators arrive. Each flower lasts only a few days, but the plant opens them gradually, so the display can last well over a month.

Some Aeoniums flower later, into the summer. Don’t expect flowers every season, though. Some varieties, like Aeonium ‘Schwarzkopf’, can take up to 12 years to produce their first flower spike, while others take only 3 years.

Preparing for summer

By late spring, frosts become less and less likely, so now is the time to put your Aeoniums where you can enjoy them most. Outdoor dining areas such as patios and balconies suit them well, and they make a talking point with friends and visitors on warm summer evenings.

You can also mix them into borders with other plants. They look lovely in and around soft grasses like Stipa tenuissima (Nassella tenuissima).

Spring is when Aeoniums move from slow winter growth into active growth, which makes it the best time to repot, propagate and look after them so they stay healthy through the rest of the year.

Thank you for reading!

If you have any other care questions, email us at info@surrealsucculents.co.uk and we will be happy to help.

You can find more of our care guides in the Plant Care & Advice section.

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