Cotswold Aeoniums

Updated June 1st 2026

Probably the biggest home based collection of Aeoniums in the Cotswolds.

Most species Aeoniums are endemic to the islands on the map above from Madeira in the North right down to Cape Verde, including a few on the mainland of Morocco and Yemen.

I’ve been a home grower of Aeoniums for a few years now and have a varied collection, some are compact slow growing plants and others make large specimens in just a few years, all require space to overwinter in a frost-free place, greenhouse or conservatory, but the effort is always worth it.

Most of my plants live outside from May through to October depending on the risk of early or late frosts or predicted poor weather. In Spring we often get a few late wintery hail showers, and these are bad news for soft Aeonium leaves, so I always keep some protection measures close at hand. There is a wide variation as to what each plant might tolerate depending on their heritage.

Species and interspecific types have known habitat conditions, although with climate change this is no longer consistent. Many cultivars have no type locality so you have to learn from their parentage, if known, but as many are created in the UK you have a fair chance of working this out for yourself.

I currently only use Melcourt peat-free potting mediums with added pumice or moler clay for good drainage, rain water if available, eco friendly feeds and long lasting high quality plastic pots. In an ideal world I would use all terracotta pots for every plant, but the weight on my greenhouse staging in the Winter months would be too much.

Aeoniums do flower occasionally and can look stunning but it’s not all good news as most of these plants are what’s called “monocarpic” meaning that when a leaf rosette flowers and sets seed it will die, so it’s always a good idea to keep more than one of your favourite plants. Below is a x Semponium in flower which is a relatively new cultivar, a cross between a Sempervivum and an Aeonium.

The darker leaved hybrid plants, often most seen if you’re on holiday in UK places like Cornwall, will lose some of their red/black colour in Winter when away from the brighter coastal areas but usually return to full strength again when the Spring higher UV sunshine and longer days return like the Aeonium arboreum ‘Velour’ below. Some variegated cultivars don’t mind the lack of light in Winter, cheering up an otherwise fairly dull greenhouse staging, like Aeonium ‘Peacock’ and Aeonium ‘Sunburst’ also pictured below, but these don’t always do well in the full heat of Summer so a dappled shade position suits them best.

Nearly all of the dark leaved Aeoniums are cultivars and are not be found in habitats like the Canary Islands, but some do well outdoors all year round particularly on the South Coast where the Winters are often kinder.

My plant family is relatively young but contains many species plants, and interspecific hybrids, that would naturally occur in the wild, along with a large collection of dark leaved cultivars, in particular those created by John ‘Jack’ Catlin in the USA and other UK specialist growers. I do have a selection of variegated hybrids originating from the USA and a few of the better Asian ones too but unlike many enthusiasts these do not form the bulk of my collection.

Interact with other Aeonium growers.

Depending on how keen your interest in Aeoniums gets you can join one of the many Facebook user groups where you can share photos, swap and share spare plants and get advice from other enthusiasts.

Specialist Aeonium retailers I can recommend are:

Surreal Succulents (click here for link) Cornwall.

Piccolo Plants (click here to link) Devon

Ottershaw Cacti (click here to link) Surrey

Coastal Succulents (click here for link) Somerset.

Aeonium Publications.

If you develop a very keen interest then you’ll want to own this book.

Out now this publication below from Mellie Lewis who holds a national collection of Aeoniums in Shropshire.

Available on Amazon, click here.

Enjoy your growing.

Steve