Aeonium ‘Zwartskop’
Question from Charlie:
I have a black aeonium in bloom. What are you supposed to do, pruning-wise, once the bloom is over? It seems so top-heavy. Thank you!
Answer from Pat:
As with all succulents, wait until the bloom is faded and then cut it off. With most Aeoniums, after they have bloomed and you have cut off the bloom, side sprouts will remain. In that case you still have a plant. If the plant has not yet made a branch then you perhaps planted a cutting that had already begun to bloom. Aeoniums that have begun to bloom do not make good cuttings since they put their energy into blooming instead of branching.
if your plant has side sprouts, then after it blooms and you have removed the faded bloom, you can cut off all the side sprouts if you want and throw out the old root. Then allow the cuttings to callus off overnight and replant them to make more plants. Another way is simply to allow the whole stem to stay as it is and continue growing. I have noticed with the hybrid A. ‘Cyclops’, that it often grows straight up and will not branch or create any side shoots. If a hybrid Aeonium, such as ‘Cyclops’ has not grown a branch before it blooms then after it blooms, the whole thing will die. I like ‘Cyclops’ but I don’t like the fact that it does not readily branch.
Thank you. I enjoyed “All My Edens” immensely on the plane to Hawaii. In it, you made brief mention of a garden overlooking Honolulu. Is it private? I also laughed at your many musings about your compost pile – that earth is a wonder to behold. I’ve contacted you before and told you that my husband & I were married in Alice Menard’s garden in 1987. I loved her garden, but prefer a more subtle one for our back yard, so I avoid yellows and only have dashes of red with salvias. I live only a few miles from her homestead.
I also wondered if you have been successful in your efforts to turn your energy toward doing more painting, rather than being a gardening spokesperson now that you are over 90. I hope so as it sounds as if you have many talents and your genetic background would lead you to do well in painting as well.
I am so glad you shared your early years with all of us – and I loved the “first date” episode. Times were different back then – so many quick marriages lasted a life time. My parents met when my mom challenged my father for stealing flowers out of her mother’s yard (for another girl, as they hadn’t met until then.) My grandmother used to go to the cemetery & get seed for her garden – she had a marvelous garden – talk of the town! My parents also had a marriage for life. Thanks again.
The garden in Hawaii was up high in the hills above Honolulu but did not have a view of Honolulu. It was a great garden belonging to a large old house and might or might not have been private but was open for tours year round and was called “The Rainbow Garden”. I visited it about 30 years ago as well as a famous bonsai grower on a bus trip arranged by the Garden Writers of America. I looked up the name of ‘Rainbow Garden” and “Rainbow Orchid Garden” and could not find it online, so most likely it’s no longer there. I am not 90 yet—I was born in 1929, the year of the stock market crash, as All My Edens reveals—but when I am ninety I plan to stop writing books if I can do so—sometimes difficult when you have a tiger by the tail! If one writes books one must also promote them. But after that I plan to do nothing but paint. I have been an artist all my life. I paint in watercolor and oils and also am a sculptor. I went to Scripps College with the express purpose of studying art in the great art department there at that time and becoming a professional artist but though I did study art at Scripps, I became a professional writer instead.
And a very good one, I might add. Sorry about the bad math – I’m rushing you! I’ve been told by many that I should write a book, as I get quite descriptive in my letters. I’d love to do it, but wouldn’t know where to start – I suppose some classes at the community college would be a good beginning. But the closer I get to retirement, the more I just want to relax, spending my time nurturing my garden & putting the final touches on the landscape plan I have in my mind. We still have a lot to accomplish – this media wall is part of it. May you live to fulfill all of your dreams. My first cousin will soon be 102 & she’s still going strong. I believe you have those genes also!
Thanks, Charlie. I’d like to think I have the same genes as your cousin but want to continue on only as long as life is as much fun as now! I encourage you to take a writing course and write a book. It’s satisfying. Mysteries are a good field for the gardener since they can combine both interests. Having had many requests for writing tips I quickly wrote some up which are posted here.https://patwelsh.com/wpmu/blog/uncategorized/how-to-become-a-writer-or-mimis-writing-tips/