In this post, I’m going to go over some of the most common aeonium varieties to help you figure out which is which and which one is right for you.

What to Know About Aeonium Varieties

It isn’t always easy to distinguish between aeonium varieties. Even specific varieties can have differences. For example, not all Aeonium ‘Zwartkop’ are exactly the same. In the image above, both dark aeonium are labeled as ‘Zwartkop’. If I was choosing one for my client I would find the darker, glossier less bushy aeonium on the right closer to a true A. ‘Zwartkop’.

In general, aeonium don’t need a lot of water. However, they aren’t as drought tolerant as some succulents due to their shallow roots. On the plus side, aeonium’s shallow roots make it a great plant for containers.

In the soil or in a pot, aeonium like well-drained soil. This is a winter growing species that is semi-dormant in summer and early fall.

Aeonium ‘Cyclops’ perhaps?

In the heat of the summer, you will sometimes see the bottom leaves of your aeonium drying up and the top leaves curling up and in like an artichoke. This is a normal process of the plant going dormant during the summer. Some people recommend not watering the plant during this time. I live in Los Angeles, and continue to water some through the summer.

Aeonium like full sun (unless you are in a particularly hot climate, in which case they prefer partial shade). If you’re in a colder climate, one that dips down below 40 degrees, you will have some trouble keeping this plant happy and should bring it inside in the winter.

These succulents are like big leafy flowers, with the fleshy leaves being held at the tip of the plant’s stem in a rosette shape. A mature (a few years old) aeonium will flower in the spring or summer. But the flowering takes the life right out of them. Most aeoniums are monocarpic, meaning the plant’s branch dies after it flowers.

Except for the color of their leaves, these two aeonium plants look very similar. I think the one on the left is Aeonium arboreum ‘Atropurpureum’ and the one on the right is Aeonium arboreum.

6 Popular Aeonium Varieties

Aeonium ‘Sunburst’

Aeonium decorum ‘Sunburst’ is a brilliant eye catching succulent. It was a winner of the Award of Garden Merit (AGM) by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). This award was set up to “help gardeners choose the best plants for their garden.” This honor is well deserved.

Aeonium ‘Sunburst’

‘Sunburst’ is a variegated, evergreen, perennial succulent that can reach to 2’ tall. The rosettes can get big, sometimes reaching up to 16” across. The leaves are a bright yellow with pale green stripes down the center. When given enough sun, the edge of the leaves become tinted with a reddish-pink. This aeonium is also referred to as Copper Pinwheel.

A very healthy and happy Copper Pinwheel. This is a recently planted garden and the aeonium has almost doubled in size in a very short time. It is planted with the soft leaves of Lamb’s Ear (Stachys byzantine), in front of a Foxtail Fern (Asparagus densiflorus ‘Meyers’), with a blue festuca (Festuca ovina ‘Elija Blue’) on the right and with the ground cover Santa Barbara Daisy (Erigeron karvinskianus) which is just beginning to take off.

The flower of this aeonium is small, star-shaped, and pale yellow. It blooms on mature plants in the spring.

This plant is very similar to A. ‘Sunburst’. There is also a variegated variety that’s white and green, Aeonium arboreum ‘Albovariegatum’.

Aeonium ‘Mint Saucer’

Need a bright green aeonium? This succulent gets 2-3’ tall and 1-2’ wide with large light green rosettes. These rosettes can mound up and become a dense canopy like you can see in the image.

Want to encourage this bushier appearance? You’ll want to remove some of the leaves and the growth bud which is at the center of the rosette. This will stimulate the succulent to branch out.

Aeonium ‘Carol’

Aeonium ‘Carol’ is bright green with splashes of red at the tips. The plant only gets 1-2’ tall and 2-3’ wide with large rosettes which can reach 18” across. It can form very attractive clumps. The perfect aeonium if you just want hints of red.

Aeonium ‘Plum Purdy’

This aeonium is a branching small shrub 2 to 3 feet tall and 1-2’ wide. It has wonderful 10 inch wide rosettes. The leaves emerge green and quickly darken to a beautiful plum color. The center is often greener than the surrounding plum color.

Bright yellow flowers rise just above the foliage in spring. The name comes from the American colloquialism “plum purdy” which means “very pretty”

Aeonium ‘Cyclops’

This aeonium is also known as Giant Pinwheel and Giant Red Aeonium. It can get to 4′-5′ tall and 3-4’ wide. It has erects stems with dense rosettes of deep red foliage held on top. It is similar to ‘Zwartkop’, but with lighter foliage and a green center, or single “eye” in the rosette.

Aeonium ‘Zwartkop’

Aeonium arboreum ‘Zwartkop’ is also known as Aeonium arboreum ‘Schwarzkopf’, Aeonium ‘Blackhead’, and Aeonium ‘Zwartkop’ with various common names like Black Rose, Black Tree Aeonium, and Black Head.

The long, bare stems of this succulent hold large rosettes of very dark purple (seemingly black) leaves. It is a dark and striking succulent which can reach, in the perfect spot, 5’ tall.

Yellow star-shaped flowers that contrast well against the dark foliage form in long conical clusters from the center of the rosettes of mature older plants in the summer.

This plant is very similar to Aeonium arboreum ‘Atropurpureum’ (Purple Aeonium). ‘Zwartkop’ has tall arching stems and large rosettes. Aeonium arboreum ‘Atropurpureum’ will usually have shorter stems and smaller rosettes than ‘Zwartkop’, and will be a fuller plant. ‘Atropurpureum’ has dark maroon purple foliage and ‘Zwartkop’ is darker purple and closer to black.

Aeonium ‘Zwartkop’ contrasting beautifully with a field of blue festuca (Festuca ovina ‘Elija Blue’). In this design, you would not want the aeonium to get too ‘leggy’ (AKA, too long of a stem).

Make the Most of Your Lovely Aeonium

Has your aeonium gotten too leggy? Just cut the stem about 2” from the rosette and replant it!.

Or cut the aeonium and use it in a floral display!

My daughter, learning to bring the outdoors in with a fresh cut bouquet.

Bring the outdoors in! The bouquet in the photo above includes fresh cuttings of aeonium, rosemary, lavender, and the flower of a euphorbia.

A variety of aeonium mixed with tulips, ferns, chamomile, eucalyptus, kumquats, solidago, canna leaves, and bird of paradise. There are also a few leucadendron flowers in there.

In this display pictured above, the bouquets have some store bought flowers, but a lot is straight from the garden. (You can also see that the large rosettes are getting droopy without water.)

Want to Learn More?

• Get a book about the secrets to growing aeonium.
• Learn about other, even taller succulents, by checking out our blog post, 5 Tall Succulents for Your Home & Garden.
• Read about other easy to grow cut flowers to add to your succulent display.

And if there’s anything specific you’d like to ask me about aeonium varieties, let me know in the comments below.

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