Types of Aeonium – Tree, Pinwheel, or Dinner-Plate

Types of Aeonium – Tree, Pinwheel, or Dinner-Plate guide illustration

Choose a tree or black rose, a compact pinwheel, or a dinner-plate first.

Types of Aeonium care summary diagram

Choose a tree or black rose, a compact pinwheel, or a dinner-plate

FactorRecommendedAvoid
A branching stem you can seeTree or black roseDo not treat it as hardy hens and chicks
A low mound of small headsCompact pinwheelDo not treat a dinner-plate as a kiwi mound
Cream or pink marksPainted kindDo not change the watering calendar for the marks
A flat, wide discDinner-plateDo not leave the flat face in hot midday sun

Know your USDA hardiness zone before you pick a type of aeonium that will take your winter. Type your ZIP below.

2023 USDA ZIP listings (PRISM / USDA-ARS). Find Your USDA Hardiness Zone · Official USDA map.

Read the habit first. Tree vs pinwheel vs dinner-plate is the choose, not the nursery pot size. [1] Tall kinds branch. Compact kinds and dinner-plates stay low. [2] Black rose is still aeonium on stilts, not hardy hens. [3] Kiwi is the compact pinwheel with a pink edge in sun. [4] Sun, rest-water, and the pot stay on How to Grow Aeonium. A stem cutting is a different job on How to Propagate Aeonium.

What are types of aeonium?

Start with habit: a tree or black rose, a compact pinwheel, or a dinner-plate. Painted kinds are the variegated shop split.

Which aeonium is a houseplant?

All of them in a frost climate. Compact pinwheels are the usual windowsill size. Tree kinds need a pot you can still lift.

Browse by kind

Tree and black rose

Zwartkop is the black rose on a branching stem. Atropurpureum is a lighter purple tree. Cyclops and Velour sit with the green species plant houseleek tree.

Compact pinwheel

Kiwi is the usual tricolor mound. green pinwheel is a small red-edged green. Blushing Beauty and Jack Catlin are compact burgundy hybrids.

Painted and variegated

Sunburst is cream, green, and pink. Mardi Gras is yellow-green with pink to burgundy. Pick them for the marks, not a different watering plant.

Dinner-plate and giant velvet

saucer plant is a flat dinner-plate a few inches tall. giant velvet rose is a short-stem giant rosette with hairy leaves. Neither is a kiwi mound.

Pick the group, then the plant. Extra shop names are not extra kinds. Merlot is a pinwheel name not in this catalog; treat a compact purple mound you already own as the pinwheel class.

Is a dinner-plate aeonium a tree?

No. Saucer plant stays a few inches tall and wide. Tree kinds put rosettes on stems.

If you wanted a hardy outdoor hen, buy hens and chicks — aeonium will not take a freeze in the ground.

FAQ

Is Sempervivum decorum a hens-and-chicks plant?

If the Latin is Aeonium decorum, it is this genus — a compact pinwheel, not hardy hens and chicks.

Is Merlot in this catalog?

No. Treat a compact purple mound as the pinwheel class. Extra shop names are not extra kinds.

How many aeonium kinds are there?

Dozens of species exist. Shop by habit: tree, pinwheel, or dinner-plate.

References

  1. [1] NC State Extension Gardener - https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/aeonium/
  2. [2] Wisconsin Horticulture - https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/aeonium/
  3. [3] University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture - https://www.uaex.uada.edu/yard-garden/resource-library/plant-week/blacktree-6-27-08.aspx
  4. [4] UC Master Gardeners of San Luis Obispo County - https://ucanr.edu/blog/uc-master-gardeners-diggin-it-slo/article/aeonium

This note is part of Aeonium Guides.

More type comparisons by plant are gathered in Types of Plants Guides.

Updated: Reviewed by Bosquelle Editors

This guide is written for real gardens, not perfect climates. Results vary with site, season, and plant choice. We draw on multiple sources and practical experience; treat the steps here as honest guidance, not a promise that every bed will behave the same.