Cant get my Aeonium's big!

[placidcasual]

any ideas where am I going wrong?

I don't have a greenhouse or conservatory and the in the winter they go in a summerhouse unheated. always fall to pieces.
ideas welcome

[musabasjoos]

From my experience, they hate being indoors. Mine lost alot of its leaves over the winter after being stored indoors, they also lost their colour too.

My black ones have been planted back in my arid bed for the last month and are now looking very healthy again.

Currently my tallest is 18 inches.

[Yorkshire Kris]

any ideas where am I going wrong?

I don't have a greenhouse or conservatory and the in the winter they go in a summerhouse unheated. always fall to pieces.
ideas welcome

They need to be kept frost free on the whole. Window sills are fine. Yes they can look rubbish after winter but better than dead in a summerhouse.

[Saslowi]

How wet have you kept it?

Cold and wet overwinter = dead aeonium.
Cold (above freezing) and dry = living aeonium.

[Mo]

I find my aeoniums always look a bit sorry for themselves after being on windowsills for the winter, but as soon as they get back outside again they're fine.

[GoggleboxUK]

My 2 have been on a North facing windowsill over winter and, although they lost most of their colour, they retained muost of their leaves and have looked generally very healthy indeed.

They're now colouring up again despite being shaded by palms outside the window.

[placidcasual]

many thanks all they were left dry in a cold summerhouse at thee moment most have died and one has lost all ts leaves.

[derrick]

I only got a couple of them but some grow so fast and others a bit slow .I put mine in a unheated conservatory and south facing windows in the winter I put these 2 out about 2 weeks ago and you can see the colour in the red

[JoelR]

many thanks all they were left dry in a cold summerhouse at thee moment most have died and one has lost all ts leaves.

I think in an unheated summerhouse your temperatures are almost certainly going to drop below zero and this is the probable reason for your losses. Overwatering results in collapsing stems but indoors they die if left unwatered all winter.

[dave2166]

ok.... so lets look at the problems here..

firstly aeoniums come from the canaries, north africa, southern europe......... they love heat and hate cold, and whilst needing some water they dont like to be cold and wet... who does??

in a summer house they will be getting very little light, especially in the winter months, and whilst protected from the rain and wet, they will still get cold

to get them big, i feed them and get them outside from may to october, this gives them as much of a chance to get big.

evn mine in the greenhouse, 50 odd plants, look a bit sad during winter when kept at +8c, its the light that we dont get from november to february... but they are perking up now

try to get them indoors, if you havent got a greenhouse or conservatory, but not above a radiator youll fry them, and keep them watered JUST to keep them alive, once every 2 weeks check the pot, and see if it needs a splash.. when the leaves start to get droopy thats a sign of needing a drink

[JoelR]

many thanks all they were left dry in a cold summerhouse at thee moment most have died and one has lost all ts leaves.

You could probably get away with that regime with some Echevierias (secunda, elegans, agavoides, affinis, Black Prince all spring to mind) as long they had no water from early October.