🌱 Morphology: A succulent hybrid with a bushy, highly branched habit that can reach 50–80 cm in height. It forms numerous rosettes approximately 20–30 cm wide, which are spaced along the stems, maintaining a much more compact appearance than A. arboreum ‘Zwartkop’. The leaves are large, fleshy, spatulate, and slightly pubescent, with a velvety feel. The center remains green, while the outer leaves take on burgundy, purple, or almost black tones in bright light.

🌍 Distribution and habitat: It is a horticultural hybrid cultivar, created by American horticulturist Jack Catlin in 1976. It is considered to be the result of a cross between Aeonium canariense and Aeonium arboreum ‘Zwartkop’. It has no natural distribution of its own; its parent plants come from the Canary Islands. It belongs to the Crassulaceae family.

❄️ Hardiness: Approximately USDA 9b–11b. For cultivation in Spain, we recommend keeping it above 5 °C, especially when grown in a pot and kept moist. It can withstand occasional dips close to 0 °C in dry and sheltered conditions, but does not tolerate frost well.

☀️ Lighting: An approximate target of 15–25 mol·m⁻²·day⁻¹ of PAR DLI during growth. Bright light enhances its spectacular purple and dark tones; in low light, it becomes greener and loses color intensity. In Madrid, it should be protected from the strongest sun during the middle of the summer.

💧 Growth cycle and watering: It grows mainly during autumn, winter, and spring, slowing down or entering dormancy during the summer, especially at high temperatures. During growth, water abundantly and let the substrate dry out completely before watering again. In summer, reduce watering significantly and avoid persistent moisture.

🌸 Flowering: Flowering is rare in cultivation and is less well documented than its extraordinary foliage. If it flowers, it produces a branched inflorescence with small yellow flowers, following the pattern of its parent plants.

🌿 Nutrition: During the growing season, use Desert CHOICE at a moderate dose. Reduce or stop fertilizing during summer dormancy.

📏 The sizes of our basic collection xerophytes are as follows:

S -> 9cm x 9cm

M-> 14cm x 14 cm

L->16cm x 16 cm

* As this is an online purchase, the appearance of the plant sent may vary slightly from the product image. The photo description specifies the plant's measurements, but these may also vary slightly because it is a living thing! Each of the plants at Desert CITY has unique characteristics.