The rise and fall of my dinner plate aeonium
One of the plants I bought at the Succulent Gardens Extravaganza last fall was this dinner plate aeonium (Aeonium tabuliforme). It was almost totally flat, rising less than an inch above the soil. My plant was about 6” in diameter but from what I read Aeonium tabuliforme has the potential to grow to a whopping 18” across while still not exceeding a height of 2”.
October 3, 2011
Here is a close-up of the tightly overlapping leaves fringed with delicate eye lash-like hairs. Notice the almost metallic sheen.
February 20, 2012
But this exquisite beauty was not going to last.
In the spring, the formerly flat rosette started to rise and soon it became obvious that a flower stalk was beginning to form. At the same time, the color of the leaves changed quite noticeably from a muted apple green to an almost fluorescent yellow green.
May 31, 2012
May 31, 2012
Like most agaves, aeoniums are monocarpic. This means that after flowering, they die. Usually the plant either produces offspring that grow around it in a cluster or copious amounts of seeds. The dinner plate aeonium, unfortunately, is a solitary species so mine has no babies.
As the weeks went by, the flower stalk became taller and taller and soon individual flowers began to appear.
June 10, 2012 July 4, 2012
By mid-June, many of the flowers had opened up.
July 15, 2012
July 15, 2012
July 15, 2012
At the same time, the lower rows of leaves started to dry up—the dying had begun.
July 15, 2012
This is what my dinner plate aeonium looks like today. Too early to tell if it there are any viable seeds.
August 18, 2012
August 18, 2012
The good thing is that this year’s Succulent Gardens Extravaganza is only six weeks away. It looks like buying a dinner plate aeonium during this event is becoming an annual tradition!
So sad to loose such a beautiful plant! I hope that you get thousands of viable seeds!
ReplyDeleteMe too! But I'd be even happier if I found an unexpected baby underneath the dying foliage.
DeleteYou've got me thinking differently about the little bumb on my formerly flat dinner plate Aeonium...
ReplyDeleteIt bet it's a baby bump :-).
DeleteI'm sorry it bloomed at such a young age. Can't wait for SE too!
ReplyDeleteFrom what I've read, they only live about 3 years. How is yours doing?
DeleteOuch...such heartbreak...I hope you at least get some viable seed from it!
ReplyDeleteNo signs of seed setting. I wonder what psychologists would say about gardeners who get too attached to their plants, LOL...
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ReplyDeleteMakes me think of my first experience with orostachys last year = heart breaking...
ReplyDeleteHaving repotted my Aeonium Tabuliforme, I planted mine outdoors in its pot in a bed. It grew to about 16inches in diameter and sent up its magnificent flower. In the autumn, I brought it back into the greenhouse and as it died slowly, hundreds of seeds were falling into every pot adjacent.
ReplyDeleteI collected these seeds, and hundreds of plants came up in my seed tray. I’ve potted many of these on, and this year my gift to all friends is Aeonium Tabuliforme.
Dominic
Dominic, that's wonderful! I'm glad you were so successful with the seeds. I wish I'd done the same.
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