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Cacti & Succulents

what happened to my aeonium-purpureum

12 years ago

Hi all, I believe I have the right name if not please tell me what it is....

{{gwi:476765}}

a friend gave me this plant for christmas, about 2 weeks before christmas....it was dark purple when I got it and as you can see it is now green

what am I doing wrong...

its in a very bright sunny south window....

the pot is small, so I have to water it at least once a week because the leaves droop and dry up if I don't...

whats wrong and how do I get it back to the pretty purple???

thanks for any help....linda

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Comments (8)

rosemariero6
12 years ago
This one changes colors through the year. The name is Aeonium arboreum 'Atropurpureum'. The winter is its growing season. You would water it regularly now & then less in the summer. It is normal for some leaves to dry up (& fall off). You shouldn't see too much of that now, though. Your plant will get some purple (partial) back later on. Nothing you can do to "make" it happen. :)
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bahia
12 years ago
This cultivar tends to fade back to green even when grown outdoors in full sun here in a California winter. If you want it to retain more color, you would probably have to grow this under lights, indoor sunlight alone won't do it.
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emerald1951
Original Author
12 years ago
Hi and thank you for the infro....I'll have to wait and see if it goes back to purple....linda
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Colleen E
12 years ago
Oh, if you ask me, it's still beautiful in its green glory! Just not its time to be purple right now, is all. :) If it's healthy, it's happy.
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ChemGardner
12 years ago
Give it three days with a few hours of direct sun, not too much so it sunburns, and the color will return. It looks very healthy!
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emerald1951
Original Author
12 years ago
Hi and thank you all...I will wait and see what happens...linda
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ChemGardner
12 years ago
Linda,

I would certainly defer to Bahia here, as he has an incredible wealth of knowledge of plants and particularly succulents.

It could also be a difference in climates as well. My purpurem is very purple with green only in the center right now, but I live in SWFL and despite a couple of quick cold snaps, it's generally been above 70* most days, with several in the 80's.

Mine get about 6-8 hrs of direct sun.

Good luck with yours!
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bahia
12 years ago
It sounds like the lower latitude and higher temperatures in south Florida make a huge difference in retaining color. I was assuming that the OP was in a more northerly climate as they were keeping it inside. Just not enough sun intensity this time of year in more northerly latitudes to maintain full coloration, as even outdoors at latitude 37 they fade out to green.
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