On a recent holiday in The Scillies I purchased a 'black' Aeonium from a
garden stall - there was no-one around to ask advice. The Aeonium seems to
be a popular garden plant in the Scillies and I am hoping that it will
thrive here in North Devon. Is it OK for me to plant it in the garden or
should I keep it in the porch for the winter before risking putting it
outside?

I understand that one can propagate them by literally cutting off the
rosette with a couple of inches of stem and planting this cutting.
Meanwhile the original plant will develop a couple of new rosettes. At the
moment my plant just has the one rosette. Would it be advisable to 'cut off
its head' at this early stage?

Cynthia

Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).

Cynthia Snowden wrote:

On a recent holiday in The Scillies I purchased a 'black' Aeonium from a
garden stall - there was no-one around to ask advice. The Aeonium seems to
be a popular garden plant in the Scillies and I am hoping that it will
thrive here in North Devon. Is it OK for me to plant it in the garden or
should I keep it in the porch for the winter before risking putting it
outside?

I understand that one can propagate them by literally cutting off the
rosette with a couple of inches of stem and planting this cutting.
Meanwhile the original plant will develop a couple of new rosettes. At the
moment my plant just has the one rosette. Would it be advisable to 'cut off
its head' at this early stage?


Take cuttings,.. in a sheltered spot in N Devon you may well get away
with it.. Will need to be away from DAMP in winter though to prevent
rotting.

Keep some cuttings as reserves and try some outside..
//
Jim

Thanks, Jim - Keeping my fingers crossed and hoping they are 'green'!


Cynthia

Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).



"Jim W" wrote in message
news:1g1mu8z.gso2gncnz8gcN%00senetnospamtodayta@ma cunlimited.net...
Cynthia Snowden wrote:

On a recent holiday in The Scillies I purchased a 'black' Aeonium from a
garden stall - there was no-one around to ask advice. The Aeonium seems
to
be a popular garden plant in the Scillies and I am hoping that it will
thrive here in North Devon. Is it OK for me to plant it in the garden
or
should I keep it in the porch for the winter before risking putting it
outside?

I understand that one can propagate them by literally cutting off the
rosette with a couple of inches of stem and planting this cutting.
Meanwhile the original plant will develop a couple of new rosettes. At
the
moment my plant just has the one rosette. Would it be advisable to 'cut
off
its head' at this early stage?


Take cuttings,.. in a sheltered spot in N Devon you may well get away
with it.. Will need to be away from DAMP in winter though to prevent
rotting.

Keep some cuttings as reserves and try some outside..
//
Jim

in article , Cynthia Snowden at
wrote on 20/9/03 11:05 pm:

On a recent holiday in The Scillies I purchased a 'black' Aeonium from a
garden stall - there was no-one around to ask advice. The Aeonium seems to
be a popular garden plant in the Scillies and I am hoping that it will
thrive here in North Devon. Is it OK for me to plant it in the garden or
should I keep it in the porch for the winter before risking putting it
outside?

I understand that one can propagate them by literally cutting off the
rosette with a couple of inches of stem and planting this cutting.
Meanwhile the original plant will develop a couple of new rosettes. At the
moment my plant just has the one rosette. Would it be advisable to 'cut off
its head' at this early stage?

Cynthia

Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).

The Aeoniums are wonderful there, aren't they? Were you on Tresco? My
husband has had several from there and our Nursery is in S Devon, though
close to Dartmoor. He thinks you'd have to be very lucky to be sure of
getting one through the winter. He says that you could try propagating it
by taking off the present head and potting it up in well-drained compost,
mixed with sharp sand. Leave at least a couple of inches of the old stem
behind with its leaves, though.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
(remove the 'x' to email me)

On Sat, 20 Sep 2003 23:05:54 +0100, "Cynthia Snowden"
wrote:

On a recent holiday in The Scillies I purchased a 'black' Aeonium from a
garden stall - there was no-one around to ask advice. The Aeonium seems to
be a popular garden plant in the Scillies and I am hoping that it will
thrive here in North Devon. Is it OK for me to plant it in the garden or
should I keep it in the porch for the winter before risking putting it
outside?

I understand that one can propagate them by literally cutting off the
rosette with a couple of inches of stem and planting this cutting.
Meanwhile the original plant will develop a couple of new rosettes. At the
moment my plant just has the one rosette. Would it be advisable to 'cut off
its head' at this early stage?

Cynthia

Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).


I have three growing outside in the ground all year round, in the far
west of Cornwall. They will take a light frost for an hour or two, but
are definitely not hardy and need excellent drainage. They will branch
eventually, but if you cut off the rosette it will encourage branching
and you can root the bit you cut off. Let the wound dry over for a
couple of days before potting up though. They come very easily from
cuttings. Note that in the dull days of winter, the leaves lose a lot
of their dark colour, but recover it again as summer approaches.


--
Chris

E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net

Chris Hogg wrote:

On Sat, 20 Sep 2003 23:05:54 +0100, "Cynthia Snowden"
wrote:

On a recent holiday in The Scillies I purchased a 'black' Aeonium from a
garden stall - there was no-one around to ask advice. The Aeonium seems to
be a popular garden plant in the Scillies and I am hoping that it will
thrive here in North Devon. Is it OK for me to plant it in the garden or
should I keep it in the porch for the winter before risking putting it
outside?

I understand that one can propagate them by literally cutting off the
rosette with a couple of inches of stem and planting this cutting.
Meanwhile the original plant will develop a couple of new rosettes. At the
moment my plant just has the one rosette. Would it be advisable to 'cut off
its head' at this early stage?

Cynthia

Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).


I have three growing outside in the ground all year round, in the far
west of Cornwall. They will take a light frost for an hour or two, but
are definitely not hardy and need excellent drainage. They will branch
eventually, but if you cut off the rosette it will encourage branching
and you can root the bit you cut off. Let the wound dry over for a
couple of days before potting up though. They come very easily from
cuttings. Note that in the dull days of winter, the leaves lose a lot
of their dark colour, but recover it again as summer approaches.


Hey there Chris.. just wanted to say that those cuttings that you did
me are doing well.. I did repropagate from the currings you sent me so
now have duplicates.. The A. balsalmiferum is particularly sweet isn't
it.. Amazing.

BTW waht did you use to pot them up in? A very gritty grey compost it
looked? Local soil mixed with something?

Passiflora are doing well also;-)
//
Jim

Yes, Sacha, we visited Tresco Gardens which is where we were introduced to
the Aeoniums - they were fantastic - the gardens and the aeoniums - and we
were so lucky with the weather.


Cynthia

Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).



"Sacha" wrote in message
...
in article , Cynthia Snowden
at
wrote on 20/9/03 11:05 pm:

On a recent holiday in The Scillies I purchased a 'black' Aeonium from a
garden stall - there was no-one around to ask advice. The Aeonium seems
to
be a popular garden plant in the Scillies and I am hoping that it will
thrive here in North Devon. Is it OK for me to plant it in the garden
or
should I keep it in the porch for the winter before risking putting it
outside?

I understand that one can propagate them by literally cutting off the
rosette with a couple of inches of stem and planting this cutting.
Meanwhile the original plant will develop a couple of new rosettes. At
the
moment my plant just has the one rosette. Would it be advisable to 'cut
off
its head' at this early stage?

Cynthia

Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).

The Aeoniums are wonderful there, aren't they? Were you on Tresco? My
husband has had several from there and our Nursery is in S Devon, though
close to Dartmoor. He thinks you'd have to be very lucky to be sure of
getting one through the winter. He says that you could try propagating it
by taking off the present head and potting it up in well-drained compost,
mixed with sharp sand. Leave at least a couple of inches of the old stem
behind with its leaves, though.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
(remove the 'x' to email me)

Yes, Sacha, we visited Tresco Gardens which is where we were introduced to
the Aeoniums - they were fantastic - the gardens and the aeoniums - and we
were so lucky with the weather.


Cynthia

Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).



"Sacha" wrote in message
...
in article , Cynthia Snowden
at
wrote on 20/9/03 11:05 pm:

On a recent holiday in The Scillies I purchased a 'black' Aeonium from a
garden stall - there was no-one around to ask advice. The Aeonium seems
to
be a popular garden plant in the Scillies and I am hoping that it will
thrive here in North Devon. Is it OK for me to plant it in the garden
or
should I keep it in the porch for the winter before risking putting it
outside?

I understand that one can propagate them by literally cutting off the
rosette with a couple of inches of stem and planting this cutting.
Meanwhile the original plant will develop a couple of new rosettes. At
the
moment my plant just has the one rosette. Would it be advisable to 'cut
off
its head' at this early stage?

Cynthia

Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).

The Aeoniums are wonderful there, aren't they? Were you on Tresco? My
husband has had several from there and our Nursery is in S Devon, though
close to Dartmoor. He thinks you'd have to be very lucky to be sure of
getting one through the winter. He says that you could try propagating it
by taking off the present head and potting it up in well-drained compost,
mixed with sharp sand. Leave at least a couple of inches of the old stem
behind with its leaves, though.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
(remove the 'x' to email me)

Yes, Sacha, we visited Tresco Gardens which is where we were introduced to
the Aeoniums - they were fantastic - the gardens and the aeoniums - and we
were so lucky with the weather.


Cynthia

Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).



"Sacha" wrote in message
...
in article , Cynthia Snowden
at
wrote on 20/9/03 11:05 pm:

On a recent holiday in The Scillies I purchased a 'black' Aeonium from a
garden stall - there was no-one around to ask advice. The Aeonium seems
to
be a popular garden plant in the Scillies and I am hoping that it will
thrive here in North Devon. Is it OK for me to plant it in the garden
or
should I keep it in the porch for the winter before risking putting it
outside?

I understand that one can propagate them by literally cutting off the
rosette with a couple of inches of stem and planting this cutting.
Meanwhile the original plant will develop a couple of new rosettes. At
the
moment my plant just has the one rosette. Would it be advisable to 'cut
off
its head' at this early stage?

Cynthia

Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).

The Aeoniums are wonderful there, aren't they? Were you on Tresco? My
husband has had several from there and our Nursery is in S Devon, though
close to Dartmoor. He thinks you'd have to be very lucky to be sure of
getting one through the winter. He says that you could try propagating it
by taking off the present head and potting it up in well-drained compost,
mixed with sharp sand. Leave at least a couple of inches of the old stem
behind with its leaves, though.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
(remove the 'x' to email me)

On Mon, 22 Sep 2003 21:07:38 +0100,
(Jim W) wrote:


Hey there Chris.. just wanted to say that those cuttings that you did
me are doing well.. I did repropagate from the currings you sent me so
now have duplicates.. The A. balsalmiferum is particularly sweet isn't
it.. Amazing.

BTW waht did you use to pot them up in? A very gritty grey compost it
looked? Local soil mixed with something?

Passiflora are doing well also;-)
//
Jim

Hi Jim,

The compost was 3 parts gritty sand, 1 part peat and 1 part garden
soil. I use waste sand from the china clay industry in mid-cornwall,
which is white/grey. They produce about 20 million tons per year and
have to stockpile most of it! I help out where I can :-).

Actually, I find that mix a bit lean for most things except perhaps my
proteas, and it does pack rather densely, probably because the sand
has a lot of fine grains in it and not really enough grit. Two parts
of that sand would probably be more than enough. I'm tending to use
1 gritty sand:1 perlite:1 peat:1 soil now. Outside, the aeoniums are
in ordinary garden soil with a lot of extra sand dug in.

Eden apparently use a mix of 2 parts of similar sand to 1 part
compost, with minor additions of clay or shredded bark as needed. This
is actually a bit higher in sand than my original mix if you equate my
soil/peat mix to their compost. However, I suspect that their use of
all compost gives a more open texture.

Glad to hear the others are all doing well. A. balsamiferum smells
wonderful when you're out in the garden and the sun is on it (if you
like the smell of balsam, that is). Your Passiflora is also thriving.


--
Chris

E-mail: christopher[dot]hogg[at]virgin[dot]net