Repotting Aeoniums
Among my favorite plants are the exotic forms of succulents - they make excellent container specimens.
If you like growing plants, but don’t really have a lot of time to care for them, I encourage you to consider growing succulents. Succulents are so easy to maintain and are able to survive prolonged drought because they store moisture in their fleshy stems, roots, and leaves. A general rule of thumb is to repot succulents every two-years to provide more room and fresh fertile soil. Recently, my head gardener, Ryan McCallister, took the opportunity to repot a good number of succulents called Aeoniums that form beautiful rosettes of fleshy, spoon-shaped leaves.
Enjoy these photos.
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- Many of my smaller potted succulents are stored along one side of my main greenhouse where they can get lots of light. Most varieties need at least half a day to a full day of sunlight. In extremely hot areas some afternoon shade is recommended.
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- Several succulents in my collection needed repotting because they had grown too big for their pots or because I wanted them moved into more decorative clay containers. Some included these Aeoniums.
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- Aeoniums are fast-growing rosette-shaped succulents. Aeonium is a diverse group that can be stemless or shrublike, small or medium-sized.
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- First, Ryan takes off anything unsightly, along with any leaves that are too close to the bottom of the stem.
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- Ryan does this with every Aeonium to be repotted. The leaves pull off easily by hand. There are about 35-species of Aeonium, most of them native to the Canary Islands. The other species are found on Madeira and in north Africa. They are closely related to the genera Sempervivum.
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- This planting now has enough stem to be planted securely in a pot.
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- Once the Aeoniums are cleaned up, Ryan places them all on the counter where they can callus over, or dry out and form a hard crust at the base of the cutting, before being placed into a potting medium.
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- These Aeoniums will dry out overnight. The name Aeonium comes from the Greek word “aionos,” which means “immortal.” Although most Aeonium rosettes die after blooming, they can be easily propagated by cutting off the rosettes before flowers appear, allowing the cut to heal and then inserting in soil where the new plant will quickly root.
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- Using sharp shears, Ryan continues to snip off any dead leaves or spindly, malformed stems and puts the Aeoniums aside to dry – it is so easy.
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- Aeonium rosettes have somewhat rounded leaves. Leaves can be solid colors or variegated in white, yellow, red and green.
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- This Aeonium has rounded edges and pointed tips – I love their unusual shapes. Notice, the top of the rosette stays tight in the center, and the foliage directly below it is usually more spaced out. Aeoniums prefer temperatures between 40 and 100-degrees Fahrenheit.
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- Succulents are best planted in clay or terra cotta pots with proper drainage holes because the vessels dry quickly, and prevent water from building up. The next day, Ryan fills three pots with potting soil mixed right here at the farm.
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- Regular potting mix is actually better for Aeoniums than a mix specifically for cacti and succulents, since Aeoniums need some moisture. The right soil mix will help to promote faster root growth, and gives quick anchorage to young roots.
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- These three pots are now ready for the Aeoniums. When repotting, the new pot selected should always be a size up in diameter of the existing pot, or the plant itself.
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- Next, Ryan carefully begins potting the aeoniums. With their sculptural shapes aeoniums are most attractive when planted in groups.
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- These plants can be placed closely together, so don’t worry if some of them touch each other.
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- Succulent comes from the Latin word “sucus,” which means juice or sap. It’s also a nod to the nourishing leaves that help these plants survive in extremely warm conditions.
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- Size will vary greatly with variety. Some aeonium varieties are low growing and get only a few inches tall, with rosettes an inch or two across. Others will branch out and grow three to four feet tall with plate-sized rosettes.
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- Most Aeoniums grow well without fertilizer, but container-grown Aeoniums, which can quickly exhaust their soil during the growing season, do well with a slow release, 14-14-14 fertilizer that is specially formulated for succulents. Apply it in spring after new growth emerges and again mid-summer.
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- Unlike many other succulents, however, Aeoniums have shallow root systems and cannot be allowed to dry out completely. Container-grown Aeoniums need more frequent watering, so check the soil twice weekly during hot, dry weather and water whenever it feels dry one-inch below the surface.
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- These aeoniums are now all repotted and ready to go back into the main greenhouse where they will get lots of good light. What are your favorite succulents? Let me know. I always make time to read all your comments and stories.
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