Aeoniums are easy-care perennial succulent plants that are gaining in popularity because they offer striking foliage that brightens winter gardens at a time when many plants are dormant.

Most of the 35 species are native to the Canary Islands and go dormant in summer. That’s convenient for Southern California because gardeners don’t have to be concerned with providing them much water during the heat and drought of summer months. Aeoniums are members of the Crassulaceae family, a huge family of succulents that includes many other popular and commonly grown succulents, including some that look a lot like aeoniums.

Highly decorative and relatively slow-growing, aeoniums are useful in both pots and landscapes. They are prized for fleshly rosette-shaped leaves appearing at branch tips. Some, like ‘Cyclops’ and ‘Zwartkop’ have deep dark burgundy leaves. Others produce green leaves edged with pink or green. They can grow low to the ground or 5 feet tall, and they thrive in coastal as well as inland regions of San Diego, as long as they are protected from hot afternoon sun.

Tina Zucker grows more than 100 aeonium varieties at her Solana Beach home. A savvy and enthusiastic supporter of succulents, her landscape consists mainly of these easy-care, water-thrifty plants. She estimates that she has several thousand plants at her home and thousands more in her growing grounds in Vista. Several times a year, she sells surplus at an invitation open garden and plant sale. Additionally, her plants are available by order through her website, www.succulents.us.

When talking about succulent plants, she admits that aeoniums are not as well-known as other types such as Agave, Aloes, Kalanchoe and Euphorbia, and she encourages people to try them.

“It’s good to have happy plants with thick, showy leaves that thrive in winter,” Zucker said. “They’re easy plants to grow outdoors where there’s good air circulation because they tend to get buggy indoors.”

But, she cautions, they are frost tender, so they need protection where temperatures can drop near or below freezing. It’s easy to move them in containers. Pots of aeoniums can be placed along walkways or doors for dramatic focal points. Taller varieties like ‘Cyclops’ or ‘Sunburst’ make sculptural statements in the ground. An added bonus is flowers that appear on a stalk and can last for many weeks.

The roots of Aeoniums are sparse and hairlike with all the water-storing parts of the plants being in the stem and leaves. These wimpy roots can dry out, and many of these plants decline if not kept moist, but not soggy, for much of the year. Many Aeoniums will produce aerial roots that grow right out of the stems, particularly if the stems are getting long and leggy, or fall over, or are in a cramped pot.

Most Aeoniums are winter growers, looking their best when temperatures are moderate and water plentiful. As summer approaches, many will curl their leaves in and go into a form of dormancy, though in cultivation, given some shade and water, most will continue to grow actively, though perhaps less vigorously. Hot summer sun will damage their leaves, and some will curl up and in, as a protective response.

Zucker recommends the following aeonium species and cultivars:

Aeonium arboreum ‘Zwartkop’: One of the best known aeoniums, this striking variety has nearly black rosettes on a plant that grows 3 feet tall and wide. Slow-growing, it works well in pots.

Aeonium arboreum ‘Atropurpureum’: This is the same plant but with purplish leaves that fade to green in shade but darken to maroon-purple in sun. This hybrid is probably the most common aeonium in California.

Aeonium Canariense: Large rosettes of fuzzy leaves are light green, tinged with salmon at the tips when grown in sun. Pale green flowers.

Aeonium ‘Cyclops’: This grows 4 to 5 feet tall. Deep burgundy rosettes have green centers,

Aeonium haworthii: A shrubby plant that grows to 2 feet tall and 4 feet wide. Three-inch rosettes are blue-green edged with red. Easy to grow, it forms thick, dense clumps supported on a multibranched network of thin, woody, rough-surfaced stems. This plant often has lots of aerial roots drifting down from its stems. Cuttings grow easily and quickly after being planted in the ground.

Aeonium ‘Kiwi’: Commonly called ‘Tricolor,’ this is very low growing, forming a tight mound of light green rosettes. The yellow variegation is only on the newly forming leaves at the center of the rosettes, and older leaves are all green with a consistent red-pink margin.

Aeonium davidbramwelli ‘Sunburst’: An easy plant that grows well in sun or shade, and tolerates some cold. It tends to burn in full, hot sun, particularly if the rosettes are primarily white or yellow. White and green variegated leaves are edged with red. Pale yellow flowers appear on a single stalk.

Aeonium tabulaeforme: This grows very flat to the ground, producing round whorls of many lime-green leaves edged with soft hairs, for an nusual landscape look.

Aeonium tabulaeforme ‘Crested’: The tabulaeforme also grows in a crested form with leaves emerging from one central growing tip. The result is a fan-shaped plan, also novel in landscape.

When growing aeoniums in pots, Zucker recommends adding perlite to commercial potting soil for improved drainage. She waters all her succulents once a week in summer and once every couple of weeks in winter, but she says in cooler weather check first to see if watering is actually needed.

Zucker suggests using a balanced time-release fertilizer at the beginning of the fall or winter growing season. A few pests can attack, mainly mealybugs, so inspect leaves for any infestation and use a nontoxic insecticide if severe.

These slow-growing plants, when grown in containers, generally require transplanting once a year. Plants in the landscape, which should also be grown in well-draining soil, can remain in place for years. As plants mature, many produce “pups” or offsets. These can be removed and planted on their own. Some species die after flowering, so their offsets can replace the mother plant.

You can find aeoniums at area garden centers and specialty nurseries.

Dardick is a freelance garden writer.

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