New cuttings potted up mid April 2018First flower on the new cuttingsNew cuttings getting startedCuttings in Sept, some progressLate Nov 2019, still skinny but getting longer
This is one of those plants I stumbled across a photo of and I had to have it. Once it gets going it looks like an octopus trying to escape the flower pot.
A green to red rhipsalis with small tufts of white with red flowers along plant. Flowers will become small red fruits. A happy plant can have trailing stems up to 4′ long. This is a hanging rhipsalis, it’ll need to be up high enough to let the branches trail. Fast growing once it gets started.
Water lightly but do not let get dry, water more in warm weather less in cold weather. Pot must have good drainage
Light shade, will burn in direct afternoon sun, loves bright morning sun best
Protect from cold, 55’F, and from heat greater than 80’F
Propagate from cuttings, let end callous over before planting in damp soil
Endangered in natural habitat, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, so be sure to pass cuttings along to all the gardeners you know
Not quite blooming in the first week of April, but very happy in their new very sunny location
These were relocated last fall, and are starting to fill out now that they’re getting more sun. I’ll add some new photos when they bloom.
The leaf rosettes will fill out to about 3′ and they’ll send up dozens of stalks from each clump in early May (in Houston). Flower stalks are between 4′-6′ tall. Now that they are getting more sun the leaves will become speckled with purple.
They prefer well-drained soil and are drought tolerant once established.
Native to south-eastern Texas through north-eastern Mexico, often found growing wild
Propagate by division and seed
28 known species
Named after an Italian writer, Manfredus de Monte Imperiale
Problems: Really hates being wet, plant in a dry and sunny location
New cutting late March 2018New cutting late March 2018Aeonium arboreum growing in a sidewalk garden in CaliforniaI put some cuttings in the ground last fallFall 2020
Aeonium arboreum
The flowers are actually leaves, in older plants they can be as large as 8″ across. The true flowers are a bright yellow, and look like small daisies. I’ll post photos once it blooms. These just arrived this week. A new batch arrived, I’m trying some outside and some indoors.
Colors vary from red to silvery green, some varieties are only green. Red/green ones will turn redder with more light, summer heat and winter cold, less water, pretty much any stressor. This is true of the Crassulaceae family of plants.
The plant grows long stems with sparse clumps of rosettes. It looks like a small tree when fully grown (~3′)
I’m hoping to grow it outside. I have some indoors, some in the ground and a few in pots outside. I’ll post more information after I see how they do. It’s rated for zones 9-11 so it’s probably best grown as a house plant.
Indoors grow it in full sun, well drained soil, same as you would for any succulent. Water it more in the summer, less in the winter, giving it a thorough soaking and letting it go almost dry between waterings. These go dormant in the summer and winter, most growth occurs in the spring and fall. Water less during dormant seasons.
Propagation is by cuttings in early spring. The two plants in the photos are cuttings, I’ve potted them up in wet soil, I’ll let the soil get drier and give them more light over the next few weeks. I put about 8 cuttings outside in the fall in Houston. They survived winter, including a couple light frosts. I don’t think they’ll survive a Houston summer outside, we’ll see. You can’t give these plants too much sun. The ones growing the best receive the most sun.
The earliest mention of this plant I could find was late 1880s where it is mentioned as a houseplant or plant for warm, dry landscapes.
It’s in the same plant family as jade, Crassulaceae. It’s native to the Canary Islands where it prefers to grow on volcanic hillsides among the rocks.
Outside try to keep the plant between 40’F-80’F.
They can handle a gentle frost. I’m still working on an upper bound temperature. Most of these survived the summer, the ones that received the most sun and the ones in large pots handled summer the best.
When ever I go to a home warehouse store I wander through the plant section. Sometimes I get lucky. These caught my eye. How could you miss those colors?
I tried to find information on the company but all I could find were blog and forum entries. If you look closely at the turquoise blue one front and center it appears the newer part of the leaves are growing out green. I’m guessing the plants are just painted? idk?
Herself's Plants 
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