Aeonium Species, Saucer Plant

Following winter rains, these aeoniums plump up to enormous sizes, sometimes 2'-3' in diameter. They are relatively easy to care for, su...Read Morerviving on lean soil, little to no summer water, and in shade to full sun. This plant seems to grow much larger if they are sheltered from the hot summer sun. As with most aeoniums, these plants propogate from cuttings very easily. During winter/spring, I cut the new side growths/pups when they are about 6" in diameter, and stick them in the wet soil. It has always been advised to harden them off first, but I have never done this and have never had one rot. Best to withhold summer water and allow these plants to go dormant. The heads will shrink to a fraction of their full size, but I have found aeoniums to be healthier when allowed their natural growing cycle.

In nature this is a nonbranching Aeonium, and very tall up to over 5' tall, from the Canary Islands. Large heads up to 10" across. Gree...Read Moren color. Good in groups.

Note: many plants sold in nurseries as 'Dinner Plate' or 'Saucer Plant' Aeoniums are obviously either hybrids of this or something else entirely different as these plants, though sharing the huge head of A urbicum, are often stemmless, or are branching and tend to flower at a height on only a few inches. None of these characteristics are consistent with this species, which is a tall, robust, unbranching plant. I have no idea how the nursery plants ended up with this name other than possibly hybridization some time ago, but more often than not, a plant sold or displayed as Aeonium urbicum is NOT Aeonium urbicum as described taxonomically, or found in nature in the Canary Islands.

A fine plant, usually recognizable by its tall unbranched stem, from 3ft upto !!! 7 feet high. Leaves in a broad densee rosette, glabrous...Read More, green or glaucous, elongate-spathulate. Inflorescence very large, glabrous, pyramidal up to 80 cm long. Grows from sea-level upto 1100 m high.
Seedlings available on request.
We find it in Teno, Anaga, Santiago, Masca, La Laguna etc.

Indeed dear, it is a non branching Aeonium who, after flowering, will dye.