Any Hope for my Aeonium Schwarzkopf

12 years ago

Greetings all. I'm a first time poster here and I need your help! Well, really it's my Aeonium Schwarzkopf that terribly needs your help!!

I bought this plant from the local botanic gardens annual plant sale this past May. When I bought her, she was about 10" tall, looked very healthy and pretty. That is, she had abundant, strong, fleshy fleshy leaves with no signs of insects, etc. Her stem looked and felt sturdy. I then brought her home and set her outside, in a western exposure, for the summer months. (Getting about 5 hours of direct sun each day). Some time around July, when we had a major heatwave, I noticed her leaves dropping and I moved her and my Jade to a less "hot", but still sunny location. (The Jade loved this move, btw). Then we started having big rains. I left her outside (but did her bring her inside while Irene was in town!) At any rate, about 4-5 days ago, I noticed her stem started bending. Now, this is how she looks today:

{{gwi:645614}}

I've never tried to grow this plant before and admit to not doing my homework on proper care in due time. From the bit I've shared, do any of you know what's going on here? Have I slowly murdered this little plant and am now watching her last gasps? Or, is there any way to get her back to the lovely beauty she was in May? Any chance of salvation by going the route of stem cuttings at this point? Whatever your opinion or advice, it would be truly appreciated. Thanks!

Featured Answer

paracelsus

12 years ago

Aeoniums are so-called 'winter growers', but really should be called 'summer dormant'. Seems odd not to water much during the hottest time of year, but the plants will thank you for it. You have a bad case of stem rot, certainly caused by watering when the plant was dormant, and from poor soil conditions. But there is good news, the fall growing season is underway, and it's a great time to take cuttings. In your case, there is no time to lose.

The fungus is very advanced, having traveled up the now collapsed main stem, and into the branches. The only solution is to cut those little rosettes free, and re-root. Here's what to do:

Cut the rosettes leaving less than an inch of stem. The cuts must be ABOVE the level of rot, or the cutting will fail. You can see the fungus in the dark colored areas close to the branching points from the main stem. You will need to cut close to the rosettes, examining the cross-section of the stems for any dark vascular tissue. If it is there, keep cutting towards the rosette in 1/4-inch increments until the cross section is clear. It's OK if there is no stem left at all ;)

The cut ends must dry in the air for about three days to callous over, then plant in dry soil that is about 75% inorganic materials like gravel, perlite, pumice, etc. No sand! No peat! You can mist the plants every few days. Keep in bright shade, no direct sun during this time. Use very small pots and very quick draining soil during the re-rooting phase. Do not water thoroughly until the rosettes have started new growth, or you will rot the cuttings.

Some of those rosettes may be to far gone to save, but you are fortunate to have many babies. You should be able to save several, leaving you with more plants that you started with. :)

Take action now!

Brad

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Comments (9)

marthavila
Original Author
12 years ago
Dear Paracelsus,

Your really quick, thoroughly informative, sensitive and supportive response has to be one of the best I've ever received on any Garden Web forum . . . ever! Thanks so much for coming to the rescue! I will definitely take your advice and try to get some cuttings from my beleaguered little Aeonium ASAP. Assuming I'll be successful at this, I promise to post some "revival" photos as soon as I have some worth sharing. In the meantime, thanks again for your help. I am much encouraged!
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haha no worries. i always love seeing plants make it back from near obliteration! go zwartkopf! we have lots of aeoniums planted in the back as well but i am worried with the winter coming up, because here in sf it rains a lot during the "winter," and even though that's the season for aeoniums' growth, i think that the water will be too much. i have been thinking of how to protect them when the time comes. maybe i'll plant an umbrella. :) in the meantime i have really enjoyed watching this aeonium develop and learn about its odd "behaviors"
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I'm on a laptop ..I don't own a cell phone people nowadays are just to "busy" their like pod people everywhere you look someone is using one..anyway I took the aeonium out of the soil and washed the roots off and pulled any dead roots I saw off it has lots of lil white roots (Dear God I hope that's a good sign) and it doesn't smell funky and the stem all the way down to the root system is strong and sturdy there was some dark coloration near the bottom of the stem but I rub it with a q-tip and it cleaned up.. Thanks Rina i'll try Houzz Photos maybe that will work for me.. Nope still nada no pic =( It worked one time and then when I tried to change the pic (I uploaded the wrong one) it wouldn't let me ..darn.. Should I spray the roots with an organic fungicide before I repot the plant just to be safe?
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cactusmcharris, interior BC Z4/5
12 years ago
We're actually considering making Brad President for Life here, based on the above and similar other responses.

Brad, we can add to the Boilerplate Succulent Declaration with the above, I think.
paracelsus
12 years ago
Martha, reponses like that make helping a joy. Thanks.

Jeff, thanks to you too, I think. ;)

Brad
marthavila
Original Author
12 years ago
Brad, that was modest praise. You're great!

Now, following your advice, I took to my little Aeonium this morning and put her out of her misery. I was able to save only 3 of the rosettes, each with barely a stem left. After cutting away all the fungus and rot, I also managed to save one teeny bit of healthy stem, without a rosette. Everything else was already a goner. Still, I'm optimistic that I may emerge from this sorry planticide with as many as 4 new AS plants! If so, I'll get to learn a whole lot about this genus in the best way possible -- from the bottom up. Woo hoo!

BTW, feeling so pleased with my first exchange with this forum, I think I'm now gonna stick around. Towards that end, I would hate to leave you all with the sole impression of me as a succulent abuser! In fact, I feel called to share one of the successes of my collection. So, here's a bit of my lovely blooming cactus which managed to put a big smile on my face for a whole day! :-)
{{gwi:645617}}

{{gwi:645618}}
chicagardens
12 years ago
I need help also! I am totally new to gardening and started out with succulents thinking, how hard could it be, everyone says they are so easy and tolerant...even to black thumbs like me. :)

I was googling around trying to figure out my issue and ran across this post. I am so glad I did. I am in the same predicament. Is there any hope for these two? I removed them from the pot last night.

{{gwi:645619}}
marthavila
Original Author
12 years ago
Hi Chicagardens, and welcome to the Rotten Aeonium Schwarzkopf Club! :-) Honestly, I am far from the expert on such matters, but my best advice is to follow that which Brad, (a resident expert) gave me in his post above: cut those stems free from the rot and re-root them! So far, that remedy seems like it might be working for me. Hopefully, it will work for you as well. Good luck!
cactusmcharris, interior BC Z4/5
12 years ago
Left - Maybe, it depends on how rotted that stem is.

Right - Probably, follow Brad's advice.

Use anticeptic procedures when making the last cut, and maybe rooting hormone wouldn't be a bad idea, but you've got to get rid of the rot first - cut to healthy tissue.
chicagardens
12 years ago
thx marthavila. i was going to try that also but figured i would take a picture of my victims in case there was another remedy...or none at all. :D

i am a newbie. i've been spending a lot of time on boards and reading books on succulent types and care. fingers crossed i fair ok.

Any Hope for my Aeonium Schwarzkopf

paracelsus

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