Aeonium arboreum is monocarpic per stem in my experience (as are many other Aeonium spp). This means stems die after blooming. However, on the plus side, many aeoniums do branch or "pup", meaning you can often start or continue the plant via its non-blooming branches or offsets. If the plant has branched, you can cut off and re-root the rosettes which have not flowered. Or you can just cut back the stem which has flowered, leaving only firm stock or branches closer to the base. If the plant has healthy, non-flowering stems, they should survive. However, if your plant had only a single rosette and this stem flowered, your plant has probably expended all its energy in blooming and reached the end of its days. Add to that your observation that it is "completely dried out now" and it's likely this plant has reached an end. -- DC, Los Angeles, CA Member CSSA, San Gabriel Valley CSS

Yep, try switching their locations. Here in Calif. my Portulacaria afra, is not doing well, I have it outside, and it's unhhappy. Mine is also variegated. I do have it in a Western position. The Aeoniums, are really smiling, they like it cool, and I have pulled leaves off the plants to start new ones, I plant to cut the head off as well, and restar so it will be larger. One is in flower so it will die, too late to save it now. So I'm trying the leaves, if you keep cutting the heads every year, they will grow larger and think they are a teenagers again, and will not go to seed. Do not attempt this during the summer. I hope I'm making myself understood.

Hey Neil, it's so rare I talk about any plant that isn't giving me problems though! :-D I have a few Aeonium here, though not a LOT -- kiwi, too. Lots of those (also in the background in one of the photos above but it's split up everywhere), as well as Irish Bouquet and a couple of others. None are as big as the parent of the 'Garnet' in the original photo...which, by the way, is screaming bloody murder every day in my yard, claiming its dying of heat. LOL In hindsight, I sure picked a blazingly hot spot for it and keep reminding myself to tell my dearest guy to move it for me but there's a lemon tree that needs to be dug up in the spot I want this in. Whoever planted a lemon tree in partial shade is crazy. You see the problem? LOL There's a few mixed in here which I took today. I didn't get down to the area of the yard where I have a pot of Aeonium 'Kiwi' (and lest it sounds like a huge garden, it's not--I just didn't photograph everything haha) but admittedly, while I bought the first plant because it was so cute, I've had it for so long and as you can see, I've put bits and pieces everywhere. I find I'm kind of over them. Do you see them? :) this pot is a mess. I just keep pruning things off but am leaving it alone hoping some kind of vision comes to me. So far, 6 months into it, I see nothing. Grace

Hi there, It appears that there are some issues in regard to how you treat the plant. First, I would say that your plant is struggling with the current mix. It would be great if you could tell which type of succulent soil mix you are currently using. If you are referring to the packaged succulent soil mix, such growing medium usually hold too much water for succulents to survive in general. Those black spots appear to be the 'too much water-stored' indicator, I'm afraid. I would suggest removing those spotted leaves to prevent the healthy parts of the plant from infection. They should come off easily. Please check the root system and cut those dead and rotted and let it callous over. In my experience, the mix that I plant my succulents contains scoria, perlite, and a little proportion of akadama, all of which are inorganic materials, i.e. gritty mix. You can have some searches in this forum with many variations in terms of the mix's components. Second it is the watering habit. Spraying does harm succulents in a great degree, which certainly causes rots to happen. The widespread of black spots is the solid evidence. Succulents in general should be watered only when the growing medium is completely dry and in the pot not on the plant. Water should run thoroughly and out the pot's drainage hole. The pot must have a drainage hole !!! P/s: Sorry for being nosy but I guess that you are from and are living in Vietnam?