hey kwie. i don't think it can be sun-mine spend all day out in the nevada sun. when i bought my small multihead kiwi, part of it was showing similar damage. half the plant peeled away with rot, the other half never missed a day.sorry i can't be of more help.

just beheaded pvn.

Thanks Dave. What color were the damaged leaves on your kiwi, and is yours growing white like mine is?

It is in a very lean grit, in a community pot that's doing fine, so I think I can rule out rot. It is very strange.

I would still really love some more experienced Aeonium growers to weigh-in here.

I just moved all the plants in that pot into straight DE (OilSorb). I'm not impressed with their root systems (except the stacked Crassula). The roots are healthy and white, but small. That grit dries too fast. Maybe the little Aeonium is/was just too dry.

I took some photos as I re-potted it. Just the undersides of some leaves are affected, so sunburn seems so unlikely. Maybe dehydration though. 2:1 granite to DE dries in under 24 hours, even in cloudy western Oregon.

yo, dude. new growth on my kiwis is that same pale yellow. the edges then redden and as the leaves age become the more"normal" colour. on the water angle, even with my very special mix, i water the aeoniums more like regular houseplants than succulents. i know the sacred soil is supposed to be the answer to everything, but maybe not. i rooted and replanted the damaged part of mine that had the same look as yours.

Thanks again, Dave.

I'm beginning to wonder if it might be spider mites. There is an insidious little species here that doesn't spin webs, and is too tiny to see with the naked eye. I'll spray it with soapy water for a few weeks just in case.

Yeah, I'm not sure what I think of soil-less media. My Aeonium in a soil and pumice mix is easily ten times the size it was last fall, and the roots completely fill the entire container- like a fine net around the soil. Meanwhile, the two Aeoniums in this grit have puny roots and have barely grown.

Thanks Very much for the insight.

Here is that same plant just 2 weeks after the initial damage appeared. Ghastly, isn't it?

I've done all I can to identify the pest. I tried flicking them onto white paper. I photographed leaves with a macro lens and enlarged the photos, and I examined every inch with a hand lens, but I've yet to see any sign of a bug- no bugs, exoskeletons, eggs, larvae, webbing, or obvious droppings. Still, I'm about 90% sure it's been attacked by the wicked little mite that previously attacked my C. tetragona, and later my Schefflera. They are wicked-small mites, but do an amazing amount of damage in a short time.

If anyone thinks the problem might be something else, please speak up! I've been treating this pot with home made insecticidal soap for about ten days so far. It worked for both other plants, so I'm hoping this one recovers also. So sad- it was such a pretty little plant and had finally begun growing. Oh well, it'll come back in the fall. (If the $&@% pest is dead).

is it possible that the extreme bleaching of the leaves either weakened the plant to a point where it was virus susceptible? or is it possible the bleaching is a viral thing?

in plant biology variegated foliage is frequently a product of viral infection-perhaps also in succulents? maybe in some cases it just runs out of hand.

I agree that the 2:1 granite:DE mix was too dry. They're in straight DE now. The pot is plastic. The problem appeared essentially overnight. It affected the undersides and edges of the leaves first. I think the shriveling is dehydration from that damage rather than a spread of the infection, but I could be wrong.

They get about 6-8 hours of direct sunlight daily right now. We've had a few days in the low 90s (a real heat wave for here), but mostly 70s and low 80's. Note that none of the other plants in the pot are affected, but they aren't Aeoniums (Graptoveria, Crassula, Pachyveria, Echeveria...so quite different).

I identified the grit issue some time ago, so I'd been watering them 2-3 times weekly. I think if it were dry media alone, the lower leaves would've been re-absorbed in that normal Aeonium pattern, don't you? I have no idea what fertilizer burn looks like on an Aeonium though, or what other diseases dry media or white leaves might've made it more susceptible to.

I've read the same virus info about variegation. I'll have to research that. Interesting idea.

someone else posted recently with the same problem-at least the pics had the same semblance.

a multi-offsetted kiwi i had also suffered from what has the same appearance-we know so little about plants or, really about anything, so, who knows:-)

Well, I have very strong evidence that this was/is a pest: it spread to the rest of the plants in the pot. The Graptopetalum 'Debi' has gotten the worst of it, but almost all are hurting. Look at those poor little 'Black Prince' Echeverias. They're downright yellow. These bugs are nasty. By the time I see something is going on, it's almost too late. I'm not at all certain all these will survive.

I've put it in the sink, and I'll spray it every couple days with a soap and alcohol concoction for now, but I think something stronger might be in order. I'll post a separate thread. Meanwhile, here are the sad remains of that beautiful community pot.

I think you are right about the pests. I picked up an Aeonium sunburst recently (my first Aeonium) and the leaves looked really similar. I should have taken a picture of it before I started pruning off the icky ones, but as I was going I discovered a mealy bug infestation. Alcohol q-tip swabs helped, and I have started hosing down the foliage periodically as was suggested to me. It already seems to be bouncing back, just gave it a 50/50 alcohol and water misting this morning. Good luck with yours, hope you figure out whatvit is. it is gorgeous! Sounds like you are on the right track. Oh, if you think it could be thrips, diatamaceous earth on the soil helps with those. Maybe a systemic pesticide?