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With all the plants squeezed into the greenhouses for Winter it has not only become a safe place for my collection but also potentially a nice safe place for unwanted visitors. Last year I had problems with a nuisance that I’d not had before in the guise of Tortrix moth caterpillars, and what a hungry bunch they turned out to be. Tiny little green munchers that were not only hard to spot but also liked coming out in the dark. Frequent greenhouse visits with a torch to find them and squishing became the norm for many weeks. Although they munched some of the central rosettes, most of the plants recovered in the Spring.
You need to keep a watchful eye on a few other pests that like a safe place to live in Winter, aphids and mealy bugs can be troublesome, they can all be treated and removed, but please don’t just ignore your plants over the darker wet days, keep popping in, check them over and talk to them, they will reward you once the cold days are over, I promise 😉🪴
Mealy bugs below are often easy to spot and do need removing immediately as they can spread at quite a pace. They like to hide in bunches of dead and dried up leaves and inside rosettes of leaves.
Housekeeping is everything!
An extreme example below, but left unchecked, Torix moth caterpillars can munch their way through your collection rapidly. The good news is that plants often recover well in the Spring, assuming you removed the offenders.
To deter these common pests, you can take the full eco approach and squish them all by hand, for mealy bugs they don’t like the old remedy of meths on a paintbrush which breaks through their waxy coats or as a general deterrent and a light boost for the plants I now use SB plant invigorator in a pump action 2 litre sprayer which allows me to get under as well as over the plants. You need to use this every week on the affected plants and those around it, ideally remove a badly damaged plants completely to save spreading the problem further.
Most Aeoniums can happily survive at temperatures down to a minimum of +5 degrees c, some can tolerate less, but all hate the cold and wet of our British Winters, so outdoors in the Cotswolds is definitely a no no in my experience. I often hear about growers around the South coasts saying they leave their plants out all Winter but be warned, come away from Cornwall and you might loose your plants if left unprotected.
Depending on the size of your collection you might require little more than a Winter home for them in an unheated conservatory, a spare bedroom that has little or no heating with a window you could place them by, but for enthusiasts, a glasshouse is a must, plus electric to plug in a fan heater, tube heaters or similar. You might just get away without heat using just bubble plastic and or fleece, much depends on your location.
Our Winters in the Cotswolds have been shorter in recent years but nevertheless this year we saw between -4 and -6 deg c at night for several weeks, no Aeoniums survive that in the open for long. You may have your own better experiences or friends that live in the far South that tell you otherwise, I’m happy to accept that miracles happen.
Some succulents can take the cold, even snow, but understand what your plant needs, where it originates from and what it might tolerate. This Aloe aristata , of which I have several large multi-headed examples, can usually take whatever the Winter can throw at them ,but the one below is NOT an Aeonium.
Try to keep your Aeoniums, dry, frosts free with as much light as you can find them during the dark Winter months. Keep on top of the housekeeping by removing dead leaves and unwanted pests and you should get through unscathed. Don’t be in a hurry to get them outdoors too early in Spring as a repeat of the the hail storms we had in May this year could easily spoil the appearance of your plant for the whole year. When you have finished with the fleece inside the greenhouse you might well need it outside. Be prepared. Nobody said it was easy but so worth the effort.
I hope not to have put you off keeping more Aeoniums, but I want to hear lots of good news stories next year and not “ I wish I had taken your advice” comments, thank you. 🤔
Happy growing,
Steve
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