Aeoniums - Tree Houseleeks

Aeonium is a genus of about 35 perennial succulent plants characterized by their unusually glossy, waxy leaves arranged in rosettes. Also called tree houseleeks, the species range from low-growing varieties to larger species that reach up to 3 feet in maturity. The rounded leaves of the rosette structures are so perfect that these succulents are sometimes mistaken for artificial plants. These signature rosettes can be solid in color or variegated in white, yellow, red, and green. Small, star-like flowers grow in clusters from the center of the rosettes, but they are not particularly showy.

Aeoniums can be planted in the garden or indoors at any time. These are rather slow-growing plants and may take as many as five years before they produce the little bunches of flowers from the center of the rosettes. Most aeoniums are monocarpic, which means that the mother plant dies after flowering, but the pups (shoots) will continue to produce more shoots, as well.