PlantFiles: Purple Crest Aeonium, Black Tree Aeonium
Aeonium 'Zwartkop'

Editor's Note

There appears to be some long running controversy over the the cultivar name as well as the specific epithet. For that reason we have chosen to not list a specific epithet for this cultivar. However, we have listed all of the synonym cultivar names and the specific epithet variations.

The controversy surrounding the cultivar name is whether the Dutch name "Zwartkop", or the German name 'Schwartzkopf' (or 'Schwarzkopf') is correct.

Along the same line... this plant has been considered to be a cultivar of Aeonium arboreum, originating in Holland. Recently it was determined to be from the Canary island, therefore it cannot be a cultivar of Aeonium arboreum, since that species doesn't originate from the Canaries. Most recently it has been suggested that it could be a cultivar of Aeonium manriqueorum.

ZONE 9B Coastal Otago, New Zealand.
These dark beauties are hard to beat in the coastal garden, providing much needed height and colour in a succulent or foliage-based setting. Like many succulents they require a decent amount of regular watering to look their best, and the many straggly bloodless looking specimens you see around are suffering overly dry conditions. I cannot overstress the REGULAR part of their watering requirements; I have many aeoniums in a range of different settings and have discovered that producing those really showstopping, profusely branched and well fleshed ones takes dedication with the hose. Keep their heads in the sun, tho'- too shady and moist and you can rot them out in jiffy.
To get the darkest glossy black foliage you need bright hot sunlight for at least half the day, otherwise you will find they stay more red with a green core. Mine fade during winter and blacken up by mid spring, as they are doing now. They are happy around other nonsucculent plants- I underplant them with daylilies and eucomis (pineapple lily) to get a tropical look.
Mine get so large that I find stabilizing their roots with large stones reduces the risk of toppling in exposed windy sites, and is helpful in retaining moisture around the rootball, which is never very large.
I clip off most of the acid-yellow flowerheads as they begin to emerge- its my experience that all large aeoniums are heavily taxed by flowering and lose their lush plumpness if allowed to flower every year- it can cut their lifespan in half.
A small amount of bonemeal around the roots once a year hasnt killed them and Ive found many succulents enjoy animal-based ferts, applied with discretion.
Drop a frost cloth over them during hail, which can mark them badly (takes around half a year to recover), and if youre getting into a medium type frost, though once theyre over about waist height only those very crispy nights will hit them hard.

Easy to grow, attractive and quite hardy, even with wet winters! Managed to grow when other succulents would die.

This is indeed a great cultivar... Aeonium arboreums are all pretty easy and forgiving plants, being a tad more sun hardy than many of the more sensitive Aeoniums. These, and most Aeoniums, are not as drought tolerant as one might suspect with those thick succulent stems and succulent leaves.. their roots are super wimpy and thirsty, and will die if not watered routinely. Some even recommend NOT planting these in cactus soil, but regular potting or garden soils, ones that retain moisture a bit better. It is hard to overwater an Aeonium except for a few species that truly go dormant in the summer... this is not one of those. Water this one regularl especially in the summers or it will wilt and look unhappy.

One of my all time favorite plants. This unique species has a flair for the dramatic. Its dark appearance truly stand out against my other greenery. This plant is easy to propagate and in less a year, you will have many stems growing. Looks wonderful next to any blue turquoise succulent.

I water once a week in the summer and three times a week in the winter. I fertilize once a month with a synthetic. Very happy with that routine, the plants have grown over a foot in one year.

This is a very easy plant to grow in my region. (I don't know how important the acid soil requirement stated in the listing is. Mine grow in alkaline soil and I have alkaline tap water.)

My plants go sort of dormant in the summer and look a little tired sometimes, but they perk up again in the fall. Summer is the natural dormant season for this species in its native land.

As the plant belongs to the series arboreum it flowers yellow, and the plant can reach up to 5/6 feet high.