I just picked up three small Aeonium 'Nigrum' which I assume is:

Aeonium arboreum var. atropurpureum f. nigrum cv. 'Zwartkop'?

They are in need of repotting and they're my first Aeonium specimens. I've seen a couple of references suggesting beheading them to encourage the stems to branch. Is that a good suggestion? They're really amazing looking so the prospect of propagating more sounds good. Thoughts?

A picture might help nail down the name. Zwartkop is a pretty distinctive looking plant.

There are things you can do with Aeoniums for propagation but now is not the time. They typically slow way down in the summer (expect the rosette to shrink by the way) and things like rooting and branching do not go as well. I would advise waiting until early fall to take out the knife, maybe early spring if light is going to be limited over the winter. But yes, it should be easy to root a cutting and in the process cause the mother plant to branch. If you just want to repot now, go for it, these plants do like a little space.

Aeoniums do best with strong light through their growing season (fall through spring) and they typically do not enjoy heat or excess water during their season of rest (summer).

More here:

https://garden.org/learn/howto...

Whoops!!!
I thought I added the pictures.
Adding below...

It does look like Zwartkop to me, but give it a few months and see how it develops under your care. The color is pretty unique and distinctive. Any form of arboreum has the potential to be a large plant (say 10 inch or 3 gallon pot size by the time it flowers) but for now, and given the season, I wouldn't give them more than about a 2 inch increase in pot size.

Those are lovely plants, by the way.

I'll just repot this week and leave cutting for next spring. I am wondering about summer heat. I watched some youtube videos from California and saw dormancy in one area of a yard and where there was more water, many didn't go dormant. Then I saw one from Arizona and that was a LOT more heat. We do get hot sun and high humidity. Given that they are reported to like full sun, should I have any concerns about mediating that somewhat?

Depending on where you are in Arizona, summer temperatures will often prohibit keeping Aeoniums as anything other than house plants. Serious desert heat is incompatible with life, especially when it does not cool down at night and especially when water comes at the wrong time. That doesn't stop the big box stores from selling Aeoniums there, of course. They are essentially annuals unless people make them house plants, and that comes with its own challenges.

So temps over 100°F probably are difficult for most Aeoniums, temps over 110 are deadly. That would be my best understanding. We rarely get over 90 here so my understanding of this sort of thing is purely second hand.

That said, the high temp matters, the nighttime low temp matters, the timing of rainfall or watering matters.

Aeoniums can be coaxed into doing well in marginal (hot) climates by keeping them in part shade during the summer and avoiding midday or hot afternoon sun. I don't know anything about Kentucky geography or climate but you will probably have much better odds if you consider temperature when you decide where to place your plant.

The dogma about Aeoniums having summer dormancy is kind of flawed, for a few reasons. I have seen the same cultivar go dormant in the landscape, essentially shut down



and simultaneously be growing well on the patio, albeit at a reduced rate compared to the active season.

Some succulents experience a predictable seasonal dormancy where they drop all their leaves and sit there doing nothing. Other succulents are opportunistic and will continue to grow well as long as conditions are good. Aeoniums are somewhere in between these extremes, depending on the plant and the climate.

All Aeoniums that I've ever tried (a couple dozen maybe) will slow down at least a little during the summer, and we rarely get over 90°F. That means smaller leaves, fewer in a rosette, less stem growth. Some of them go through ridiculous mood swings. For example: here's a plant that's all pouty in the public garden at the moment. It will be fine when we get rain again in the fall.



Continue to observe and adjust and you will find out how much of a slowdown your plants experience during summer. Do not overcompensate for smaller, sadder looking summer rosettes by overwatering, though. Just a regular wet-dry cycle (like your other succulents) ought to be good.

BTW, of the four I have, this one seems promising for having already developed additional heads. 3" pots I believe...









And as I was repotting, I noticed they were in plugs and the roots had not figured out a way to get past the plug covering yet. So I peeled off the coverings while replanting.

That branching looks great.

The green color in the center more or less rules out Zwartkop, so what you've got may actually be a distinct form of this species.

It doesn't happen in low light/moisture or stress?

I haven't subjected my Zwartkops to low light so I can't say definitively, but I don't think that will trigger a color change to green. Stress if anything would make the plant more purple.

Further, I take from what you're saying that the only thing I can be sure if is the Aeonium arboreum var. atropurpureum f. nigrum part.

I would say the only thing you can be (mostly) sure of is this:

Aeonium arboreum atropurpureum

Here is a shot of all of them after repotting. All came with tags that read "Aeonium 'Nigrum'".

Where did @Aeonium2003 go? Seems like he was growing something that looked similar to this one? Maybe someone else, but I'm remembering the green center and the dark, dark purple leaves. Makes a striking combo of colors.

He is taking a break from the forum.