Aeonium Floresens

Aeonium 'Floresens' is a succulent plant whose silhouette evokes a bonsai. Very compact and well-branched, its short stems support rosettes made up of overlapping leaves. This geometric aspect of the vegetation greatly contributes to its ornamental interest, as does the colour of the leaves. Bicoloured, their midrib displays a shade of green ranging from dark to light, bordered by a peripheral margin in cream to yellow tones depending on the seasons. The colour contrast is best in summer under the sun. This variety is probably one of the easiest to grow, branching out very well and spontaneously sprouting from the base. Tolerating drought and sun well, it only dislikes frost, but its compactness allows it to be easily grown in a pot to bring indoors in winter.

Aeoniums are one of the 30 genera in the Crassulaceae family, rich in a total of nearly 1400 species. These are mostly small plants, well adapted to arid environments. While some are exotic to us, living in warm climates like the popular Kalanchoe in our homes, others thrive in temperate and even cold climates, such as Sedum (some used in green roofs) or Sempervivum (Houseleek). There are 45 natural species of Aeonium, mostly native to the Canary Islands and of low hardiness, as well as numerous horticultural varieties.
This is the case with Aeonium 'Floresens', whose exact parentage is not certain. It may have been obtained in Asia through a mutation of an Aeonium haworthii, or it could be related to Aeonium 'Dream Colour', no one really knows. This is probably why it was sometimes wrongly named 'Starbust' when it first appeared, before 'Floresens' established itself as the true name. What everyone agrees on is the stability of its variegation, as well as its ease of cultivation. A slow-growing variety, it branches out particularly well and at maturity forms a pseudo-bonsai 30 cm in height and diameter. It also sprouts very well from the base, giving it a rather bushy and very ornamental appearance. Each short axis supports a medium-sized rosette, measuring up to 10 cm in diameter. It consists of obovate leaves, narrow at the base and widening in the upper third, with a rounded end, presenting a slight point or ending in a wedge shape. The leaf blade is curiously hairy, with the leaf margin adorned with small, short hairs. The leaves are succulent, quite thick and water-rich, and their colour combination is very ornamental. Each leaf has an irregularly wide midrib, in a shade of lighter or darker green, bordered on both sides by a wide cream to yellow margin. This colour contrast is most intense in summer, under the sun's effect, while the leaves tend to lighten in winter, sometimes losing their variegation and becoming entirely green for a few weeks at the end of winter.
Although rare in cultivation, the flowering is quite charming, taking the form of corymbs grouping about thirty small flowers about 1.5 cm in diameter, with a regular star-shaped form, as geometric as the arrangement of the rosette leaves.

Aeonium 'Floresens' is probably one of the best variegated varieties of the genus and will appeal to succulent plant enthusiasts. You can only plant it in the ground in the most sheltered areas due to its low hardiness. Elsewhere, you can easily cultivate it in a decorative pot that will adorn your balcony or terrace throughout the warm season, and then overwinter it in a bright, frost-free room. To complement your exotic scene, reserve another pot for Aeonium arboreum 'Schwartzkopf', whose almost black leaves will create a striking contrast with those of 'Floresens'. To further enhance the exotic touch, introduce a Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia reginae) with beautiful leaves in a glaucous green vaguely reminiscent of small banana trees, with a flower like the head of an exotic bird with a long beak and an extremely striking orange crest. And as a final touch, Agave victoriae reginae will bring a neat architectural touch with its perfect rosette of light green leaves edged in white...