Aeonium arboreum Medusa - Tree Houseleek

The Aeonium arboreum 'Medusa' is a captivating horticultural variety, both for its remarkable design and its unusual colours. Its leaves, perfectly arranged in rosettes of astonishing regularity, exhibit varying shades depending on the season and sunlight. The dominant green and white-yellow hues of winter only remain in the centre of the rosettes in summer, while the leaves turn to a pronounced red with a central black band. Forming a compact little pyramid, this Aeonium grows in most well-draining soils. Not very hardy, it should be grown in a pot to be overwintered indoors in most French regions.

The Aeonium is a succulent plant from the Crassulaceae family, which includes 30 genera and nearly 1400 species. The popular Kalanchoe that blooms indoors, the Sedum sometimes used for roof greening, and the Houseleek, which is part of our native flora, are well-known and diversified representatives in their forms. The 45 species of Aeonium, on the other hand, all have a family resemblance, and most are native to the Canary Islands. Their vegetation formed by very geometric rosettes is very characteristic and gives them a highly ornamental character.
'Medusa' is a recent variety discovered by a Dutch horticulturist in 2016, then purchased at a good price by a Chinese enthusiast named Wu Ning, who later introduced it to the market. He named it 'Medusa' because the dark central bands on the leaves, which thus spread out to 360°, evoked in his mind the snakes writhing in all directions above the head of the Gorgon Medusa in Greek mythology.
This Aeonium indeed has a rather intriguing appearance. It produces relatively wide leaves, with rounded tips, organized in very regular rosettes. As the axis grows, new rosettes develop, giving the plant a more or less pyramidal and very aesthetic silhouette. Compact, the plant reaches approximately 40 cm in height and 30 cm in width in eight to ten years of cultivation, and may continue to grow a little with age. In winter, when the light is low, 'Medusa' takes on a two-tone variegated appearance, with the longitudinal midsection of the leaves being green, while the border is white-yellow. Then a reddish border appears on the periphery of the leaf blade, gradually progressing as the sunlight increases. In summer, it's the climax, the leaves turn to an intense carmine purple red, enhanced by the almost black central band, while in the centre of the rosette, a few remaining young leaves in yellow and green form a superb contrast with the darker mature leaves.

The Aeonium arboreum 'Medusa' displays a fascinating beauty that evolves throughout the year. This low-growing plant thrives well in a pot and should be protected from frost during winter, as it is not very hardy. In the warmer season, you can create an exotic scene on your terrace by pairing it with other ornamental tender plants, such as the sculptural Agave victoriae reginae, which forms a perfect rosette of elongated leaves in a fairly light green edged with white. The Aloe brevifolia will also be a good companion, with its toothed leaves rosette and especially its magnificent spikes of orange-red flowers in spring. And for a radical change in silhouette while staying in an exotic note, adopt a Calamondin (Citrus madurensis), a small citrus tree with white flowers that will give you decorative small spherical orange fruits that you can use in cooking.