Plant Encyclopedia

Brand:  Monrovia

Description:

Large rosettes of fleshy leaves on thick bare stems; green, yellow, and cream foliage has coppery tips in full sun; pale yellow flowers in summer; has a beautiful symmetrical form, perfect for rock gardens, accenting, or containers

Ornamental Features

Sunburst Aeonium has clusters of buttery yellow star-shaped flowers from mid winter to early spring. Its attractive succulent oval compound leaves remain bluish-green in color with showy buttery yellow variegation and tinges of creamy white throughout the season.

Landscape Attributes

Sunburst Aeonium is an herbaceous annual with a ground-hugging habit of growth. It brings an extremely fine and delicate texture to the garden composition and should be used to full effect.

This is a relatively low maintenance plant, and usually looks its best without pruning, although it will tolerate pruning. Deer don't particularly care for this plant and will usually leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Sunburst Aeonium is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• General Garden Use
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Sunburst Aeonium will grow to be about 18 inches tall at maturity extending to 24 inches tall with the flowers, with a spread of 24 inches. Its foliage tends to remain dense right to the ground, not requiring facer plants in front. Although it's not a true annual, this plant can be expected to behave as an annual in our climate if left outdoors over the winter, usually needing replacement the following year. As such, gardeners should take into consideration that it will perform differently than it would in its native habitat.

This plant does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers dry to average moisture levels with very well-drained soil, and will often die in standing water. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for a low-water garden or xeriscape application. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid. It can be propagated by division; however, as a cultivated variety, be aware that it may be subject to certain restrictions or prohibitions on propagation.

Sunburst Aeonium is a fine choice for the garden, but it is also a good selection for planting in outdoor pots and containers. Because of its spreading habit of growth, it is ideally suited for use as a 'spiller' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination; plant it near the edges where it can spill gracefully over the pot. Note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.