Aeonium   Webb & Berthelot (1840)
Greek: aionion = everliving

Aeonium is a genus of at least 35 species of rosetted tender leaf succulents from Maderia and the Canary Islands, Morocco and Ethiopia. Plants vary in size from small herbs almost flat against the ground to woody shrubs with stout basal stems supporting a disc-shaped rosette, giving them a distinctive appearance. Flowers are panicles of numerous small yellow or white florets.
Aeonium includes the former genera Greenonium and Greenovia which may be seen occasionaly on plant labels and in old books.
 
Aeonium arboreum 'Schwartzkopf' is a selected cultivar with almost black leaves which is often seen as a feature plant in summer bedding.
 
Cultivation: Many species are easy to grow in a free-draining gritty compost on a sunny window ledge or the greenhouse. Aeoniums tolerate cool, frost-free conditions during the winter if kept dry. A few leaves may be dropped, but will soon be replaced in the Spring. Mealy bugs and vine weevils can be discouraged with a systemic insecticide. As with other Crassulaceae do not use Malathion.
 
Many Aeoniums are monocarpic and will die after flowering. However, non-flowering offsets on the plant will survive. New plants can be propagated from a rosette, which should be cut with around an inch of basal stem below the leaves. Allow the cut end to dry off for a few days before potting up, and water sparingly until roots have formed.