When Aeoniums Get Leggy
Got leggy succulents? Off with their heads!
In this new video, I show how to do this while holding my iPhone in my left hand and doing everything else with my right. It's that easy.
I prune my arboreal aeoniums (those in the species arboreum, meaning "tree-like" or "trunk-forming") when they start to look shabby: Every three or four years. In the video you'll see how I snap off the rosettes and use them to create a lovely container garden. The same method is suitable for all stem succulents.
I've grown a dozen different varieties of aeonium in my garden for more than 15 years. Learn more about their cultivation requirements and see a gallery of aeonium photos on the Aeonium page of this site.
I also show how to redo a garden bed that's mainly aeoniums in a popular video: How to Refresh an Overgrown Succulent Garden.
A common confusion
I'm likely to blame for a common confusion regarding Aeonium 'Zwartkop' and others in the arboreum species. As opposed to more mounding, shrub-forming aeoniums, I typically describe Aeonium arboreum, A. arboreum 'Sunburst' and others as having "solitary rosettes atop ever-lengthening stems."
Aeonium arboreum atropurpureum
Laura B. in Queensland asks: "I have a zwartkop that is about 3 years old. It has a main large rosette that has actually started growing 3 smaller rosettes behind it. I am curious as to why it’s doing this? I thought that aeoniums grew a single rosette at the top of their branch?"
These plants do branch over time, I replied. "Mature specimens can become several feet tall with multiple heads."
Aeonium rosettes grow from their centers and drop their lowest leaves. I think the confusion lies in that each branch is eventually tipped by a solitary rosette. "You can remove the rosettes and start them as cuttings at any time," I added. "If you don't, the plant eventually looks like this, with ever-thicker stems and smaller rosettes."
Leggy aeoniums
From my Aeonium page
"When aeoniums get leggy, cut off the tops, leaving an inch or two of stem, and throw the rest of the plant away, roots and all. Replant each rosette as a cutting. Insert it into the soil, so it sits just above the ground. The best time for this is in the fall, after the weather cools, when the plants begin to come out of summer dormancy."
Related Info on This Site
Aeonium Uses, Photos, IDs, Varieties
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When succulent star Annie Schreck visited recently, we did a video about aeoniums and planted several in container gardens. Learn about handling aeoniums, and discover the lovely ‘Lily Pad’ variety.
How to Redo an Overgrown Succulent Garden
Every three or four years I redo this succulent garden outside my office window. Last time was 1-1/2 years ago when I added the fountain. It’s an important view area because I spend so much time…uh…gazing outside instead of working. (I can’t help it. The fountain doubles as a bird bath.) In my YouTube video, How to Refresh an Overgrown Succulent Garden, I…
What happens if you leave a leggy succulent alone?
Hi Mary — Generally, the trunk and/or branches get thicker and the rosette/s get smaller.
I’ve only got one stalk and nothing much else happening? How do I get it to grow offshoots?
Hi Pat — It depends on the variety. Not all aeoniums branch or produce offsets. You can’t get one to do so if it’s not in its biology.
I planted a cutting last summer. It has got long, and I wonder if I can just plant it deeper in a pot, or must I cut it?
Hi Ann — If you plant it deeper, you risk the stem rotting. There’s nothing to gain, really. It’s not like the plant will produce roots in greater quantity or faster with a long, buried stem. Rule of thumb is to cut the stem to the length that the cutting needs to stand upright. Anything longer (or deeper) is unnecessary.
I have aeoniums- green w red-brown outer edges- in several pots in different areas. They have all become very leggy and tall. The rosettes are becoming smaller and smaller. What am I doing wrong and what can I do to make them lovely again?
They are looking very unsightly.
I’ve covered this topic several times (including above) because I often deal with it. If this page doesn’t give you the help you need, hopefully this video will: Prune and Replant Aeoniums and Senecios.
I have a very big aeonium sunburst with multiple long branches with multiple large rosettes! Loving it but it has become a bit overgrown. I am afraid to cut it back as the rosettes are so big! But the soil beneath it pretty bare and I would like to fill it in. Is it a good idea to just cut a few stems with the larger rosettes and plant those in the soil next to the other large stems to fill in while clearing up some of the overgrowth? Some are about 3-4 feet tall! This was planted about 4 years ago from just one stem. I don’t want to kill it! Would love your advice! Thanks!!
What is the white powdery stuff in between the petals? How can I treat it?
I have read elsewhere that putting a fresh cut into the soil immediately may lead to rot or disease. Do you let the cuttings sit for a few days to let the cut ends callous over?
Letting the cut end callus is recommended to prevent microbes from entering the raw wound. In practice, however, it does delay planting (not a long time, maybe a day or so) which means stopping when you’re underway, gardening, and just want to get the job done. So, I don’t bother…unless it’s a valuable or finicky plant. If I’m filling a garden gap with, say, blue senecio cuttings, after preparing the soil, I cut-and-plant, cut-and-plant. Btw, I once found a pile of cuttings below my potting table. They’d been there two weeks, and looked pretty sad. I threw them away.
Hello when are the rosette heads ready for deadheading? It doesn’t look it’s best and will this encourage new growth
The rosette heads can be deadheaded whenever you get tired of looking at them. After years of watching aeoniums bloom, I’m over it, so I cut them back when the rosettes begin to elongate. This makes them branch, which is interesting, and not as long and floppy (they stay more compact). However, the rosette is going to die regardless. No, it doesn’t encourage new growth.
I need help!! I have an aeonium that has grown to be 6 ft tall! It has flowered and the leaves have died off. Please see the photo at https://photos.app.goo.gl/84Pr9NcARyhRdK987
What should I do? I’d like to keep this plant alive if possible. Should I down most of the trunk? Should I replant the part that cut off? Will the base and roots grow a new trunk and rosette(s)?
Hi David — Unfortunately, once an aeonium rosette elongates into bloom, there’s no way to prevent it from dying. However, if the main plant has other rosettes that haven’t flowered, those will continue the life of the main plant.
My aonium rosettes are falling off the plants. They are older plants. What’s going on? This hasn’t happened before.
When some species of Aeonium get old, their stems dry out and become hollow, causing the heads to fall. You’ll notice hairlike, reddish aerial roots. It’s one way the plant reproduces.