Aeonium Black Rose is an extremely beautiful and charming monocarpic succulent. It has large burgundy or purple black foliage with a green centre arranged in a rosette.
The stems are thick, fleshy and rough, light brown or yellowish in colour. It produces clusters of yellow flowers which can bring contrast in any garden. It has showy terminal rosettes with broad waxy leaves. Like other Aeoniums, it is the native of Madeira, Canary islands and North Africa. It prefers a very cool and dry environment. It can tolerate mild frost and freezing temperature for a short period. This is a monocarpic succulent with shrubby upright clumping habit. It is an evergreen, subtropical perennial subshrub. The life span of Aeoniums is anywhere from 3 to 10 years. But, the Aeonium Black Rose is most likely to die soon after the death bloom. It is prefered for its beautiful foliage and kept indoors as well as outdoors.
The plant is shifted indoors during its dormant period i.e. summer season. They are quite space consuming. Their growth rate is usually slow and depends on the pot it is planted on. They tend to grow really huge in huge pots. This plant can grow over 3 feet tall and about 2 ft wide.
This Aeonium used to be rare but now can be purchased easily from different online websites due to their popularity. It is an invasive species which thrives in USDA hardiness zones 9 through 11. It is also known by other names like Purple Crest Aeonium, Aeonium ‘Black Beauty’, Aeonium ‘Blacktop’, ‘Black Tree’ Aeonium. The Aeonium Black rose is easy to take care of making it a great choice for first time plant owners.
Once it flowers, the flowers are going to last for five to six months. That’s called death bloom. The death bloom is going to absorb all of the energy from the mother plant and eventually it’s gonna die. The succulent will die even if we cut the death bloom. Before it puts out the death bloom, it is going to put out a lot of offsets and pops which you can separate to propagate once they reach a decent size.
Botanical Classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Saxifragales
Family: Crassulaceae
Genus: Aeonium
Species: arboreum
Subspecies: Zwartkop
Is It Toxic?
It is not toxic to pets as well as humans. There are no any toxic effects reported from any species of Aeonium arboreum. So, it is completely a safe houseplant for the ones with cats, dogs or childrens.
Aeonium Black Rose Care
Caring for Aeonium Black Rose is easy. It can thrive even on neglect, as long as you don’t forget to water it. However, no matter how easy it is to care for this succulent, it’s still important to know all its basic needs, especially if you want to keep it healthy and happy for a long time.
Light
In terms of light, it prefers indirect bright light in a cooler area. It needs at least 5-6 hours of bright indirect sunlight exposure to thrive and stay healthy. Even though this succulent loves plenty of sunlight and can tolerate full sun, it’s wise to place it in a partially shaded spot to avoid sun damage on its leaves. This succulent tends to lose its dark-coloured leaves due to lack of sunlight. If you’re growing it indoors, make sure to provide the plant plenty of light keeping it near the brightest window.
Temperature
Winter is its growing period.The increase in temperature above 40 degrees celsius results in dropping off all of their leaves leaving crown area only. It will do best in temperatures between 65 to 75 degrees fahrenheit. So, they tend to go dormant during the summers. Its leaves will curl to prevent excess water loss in extreme heat conditions. It can tolerate mild frost as well as handle freezing temperatures for short periods of time.
Soil
Just like other succulents, Aeonium Black rose also needs well-draining soil. They prefer slightly moist soil, not soggy wet soil. Also, ensure that the soil does not get heated. Try to keep the soil very loose, porous and well draining. A mixture of two parts cactus or succulent potting mix and one part perlite do a great job in dry climate. You can also use sandy soil in place of perlite.
Water
Watering is done whenever the soil becomes dry. So, watering Aeonium Black Rose largely depends on the climate they are growing in, the humidity, whether you’re growing it indoors or outdoors as well as the weather condition in your locality. The watering should be more frequent if the surrounding environment is dry. They need to be watered at least once every 7 days during summer and then cut back to once every 12 days or 3 weeks during cool weather in winter. When it is actively growing during winters, it can even thrive on rainwater alone. You can either use a moisture metre or stick a finger into its soil to check for watering.
Humidity
This Aeonium prefers a humid environment during its active growth phase. The ideal humidity range is between 40-60%.
Fertilisers
It doesn’t need fertilisers that often but you can fertilise them with organic water soluble 10-10-10 fertiliser diluted to half strength once a month to boost them during their growing phase probably in spring and fall. In case of fungal or bacterial infection in its leaves, spraying insecticidal soap or neem oil can be effective.
Potting And Repotting
Potting should be done preparing an organic, porous and quickly draining mixture. The other inorganic materials like perlites, pumice can be used to increase drainage. Make sure to select an unglazed terracotta pot and if not available ,you can use any pot with drainage holes. The moment you pot it in any container, ensure that you do not move it, leave it as it is and it’s going to do quite well. So, repotting can be done in two or three years when the plant becomes larger for the pot. Proper shape can be given through training and pruning:
Trimming And Pruning
The Aeonium Black Rose doesn’t require pruning that often. If you feel the plant has become a little too tall for your space, you can trim the plant according to your requirements. The older leaves should be removed in time to make the plant look extremely gorgeous. You can remove some of the leaves and the growth bud at the centre of the rosette to stimulate the branchings. Proper shape can be given through training and pruning:
Propagation
This Aeonium can be propagated by stems cuttings, leaves, offsets and pops grown around the mother plant . However, the easiest way to propagate is through its stem cuttings.
1. By stem cuttings:
- Sterilise your blade or scissors and cut off a healthy stem.
- Let the cutting dry for sometime.
- Dip the stem cuttings in the root hormone to speed up the process before it dries.
- Prepare a well draining mixture of potting soil using cactus mix and pertiles or sandy soil.
- Plant it after pouring the potting mix into the pot. Select the pot with drainage holes to let the water drain quickly.
- Keep the plant under shade until its root grows.
- Water the plant daily.
- Once the root grows and the plant matures, decrease watering frequency and increase exposure to light.
2. By leaves:
Propagating this Aeonium from their leaves can be a failed attempt. A few leaves may grow out from the leaves and is unlikely to grow a whole new plant from a leaf. So, it is not a recommended method of propagation.
3. By offsets:
- First, Cut an offset and leave it in a shady and dry spot for about 24 hours.
- When it gets callused, plant it into the potting mix in the pot or you can even plant it directly in the garden.
Common Problems
- The Aeonium Black Rose is a sturdy plant resilient to most of the bugs. However, it may be affected by pests like greenflies or mealy bugs. A solution of rubbing alcohol may be dabbed directly or with a cotton swab to kill them or remove them from the infected part.
- This succulent tends to lose its dark-coloured leaves due to lack of sunlight. It should be exposed in bright light to maintain its vibrant appearance.
- Its leaves will curl to prevent excess water loss in extreme heat conditions. It should be transferred indoors and given a good drink in case of overexposure.
- It is going to start dropping off the majority of leaves once the summer starts.
- The old leaves appear dry and wilted which should be removed to make the plant look aesthetically pleasing in appearance.
- Keeping the soil wet for a prolonged period may lead to stem rot and root rot. The plant can be revived by propagating a new plant from what is left.
Aeonium Black Rose Losing Leaves
The common issue with Aeonium Black Rose leaves appears because of watering problems. Mostly underwatering causes leaf wilt and leaf shed. It may be losing leaves either to conserve water and energy or it may be just a normal leaf fall of older leaves to let the new leaves grow well.
Price
The price of Aeonium Black Rose ranges in between $10 to $33 based on the size of cuttings. You can purchase it from online sites like amazon, succulent box, etsy, etc
Pros
- It is not toxic to pets and childrens.
- Their distinctive aesthetic appearance makes them a popular houseplant among the plant owners.
- It is drought tolerant and doesn’t need frequent watering.
- They produce magnificent clusters of yellow flowers which creates a delightful environment in your space.
Cons
- The frequent leaf fall decreases their aesthetic look if not removed properly.
- The leaf curl or leaf discolouration occurs in case of overheat or overexposure.
- The plant should be propagated from the left out part if rot occurs due to watering problems.
Conclusion
In this article, we studied about an exemplary succulent any eyes will get stuck into. It is easy to care for and can be propagated easily from the left part even if it gets damaged. As it is dormant in summer, it can be a great houseplant for the ones living in cooler areas. Their large size can even cover up the space and create an aesthetic vibe in your place. Also, this can be a safe choice for pet owners since it has no toxic effects reported yet.
