Several years ago, a garden blogger asked: what name would you give your garden if you were to assign it one? One of the names that occurred to me at the time was 'Aeoniumville'. As my go-to filler for empty spots, Aeoniums are everywhere in my garden. They generally present an orderly low profile but, when Aeonium arboreum (aka tree aeonium and tree houseleek) blooms, it's anything but unobtrusive. The small daisy-like flowers are an almost florescent yellow and their cone-shaped blooms spikes tower above the succulent rosettes they spring from.
 |
| Closeup of flower |
I'm not sure I've ever had as many Aeonium bloom spikes as I have this year. Maybe the profusion is the result of a long, exceptionally dry period followed by the heavier-than-usual rain we had in December. Whatever the reason, they've everywhere.
 |
| Along the patio in the back garden |
 |
| In my cutting garden under the citrus trees |
 |
| Next to the garage, photo-bombing Camellia 'Taylor's Perfection' |
 |
| Along the path between the driveway and the lath house |
 |
| Mass of blooms looking south toward the lath house |
 |
| Looking down the front slope at one group of bloom spikes |
At some point in January, I started counting them but I gave up at 68. New bloom spikes continue to appear, while others have toppled over under their own top-heavy weight. At this point, I'm beginning to look forward to cutting them all back. Where is Alice's Queen of Hearts when I could use her?
The flowering Aeonium arboreum aren't the only plants producing an excessive abundance in my garden at the moment. The challenge posed by this year's massive crop of Mandarin oranges looms on the horizon.
 |
| They're not quite ripe yet but, when they are, I'm going to have to set up a fruit stand in the driveway! |
For more Wednesday Vignettes, visit Anna at Flutter & Hum.
All material © 2012-2022 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
I remember your mandarins as excellent. A neighbor brought a bagful over that was inedible. Aeonium blooms bring out love/hate reactions. Personally I like them! But then it also signals the death of the rosette. But it looks like you've got plenty to fill in any gaps!
ReplyDeleteTrue, I doubt I'll ever have a shortage of Aeoniums, or at least those plain green ones. 'Mardi Gras' and some of the more unusual varieties aren't nearly as prolific.
DeleteI like them and wish they would grow where I live. They look terrific in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteI love the plants and pop in cuttings almost everywhere there's a vacancy. They root with no effort here - one I stuck on top of the soil in a pot to avoid it being stepped on even rooted before I had a chance to move it. The flowers overwhelm me some, though.
DeleteYour mandarin tree is sporting a mullet! hehehe
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid I'm responsible for the Mandarin's unfortunate haircut. I cut out a lot of the lower foliage in front that was looking sickly but I never got all the way around to the back...
DeleteThere was one year a crazy number of Aeoniums flowered, but it has not happened since. They do what they do.
ReplyDeleteI was able to take about 100 mandarins to a food bank and left about 50 across the street where another neighbor was giving away lemons. By the next morning there were only a couple left out of the 50. Ate a few, which were good, and the rodents got the rest. Now, oranges to juice. We are lucky in CA being able to grow citrus.
Donation to a local food bank is a great idea! I need to check into local groups.
DeleteThey look like little yellow Christmas trees! Does the base of the flower die like sedums do?
ReplyDeleteI'm so envious of your fresh citrus abundance... juice heaven!
Yes, every Aeonium rosette that flowers withers and dies but it's called "arboreum" for a reason and, for every flowering rosette, there are dozens more ready to be cut and planted to create another tree. We don't even need to root the cuttings before planting here.
DeleteWhoa - I didn't even realize Aeonium blooms... Silly me. Of course they do, but I hadn't seen one until this post. I think they are marvelous. Very cool!
ReplyDeleteMost years I get a couple dozen of these blooms but this year there's been an explosion. The smaller Aeonium 'Kiwi' bloom regularly too, although in even smaller numbers despite the vast number of these plants I have. It'll be interesting to see if they follow their bigger cousins' example this year.
DeleteLike Eliza, I was reminded of sedum blooms when I saw your photos. And like her, I was going to ask about the cycle of the bloom and decay. This is quite amazing, and considering how many of them you have this year, there is going to be a tone of 'clean up' too, but totally worth it. There is a second fruit tree next to the mandarines. Another type of citrus?
ReplyDeleteThere are actually 3 citrus trees in a row there. The one in the middle, adjacent to the Mandarin orange, is a navel orange. It produces the best oranges my husband and I've ever tasted. I don't think it's a 'Cara Cara' as the flesh doesn't seem as red but, whatever it is, it's the crown jewel of our the citrus collection we inherited with the garden. The tree on the other side of the navel orange is a lime.
DeleteWow, the Aeoniums are beautiful--both the blooms and the foliage. How interesting that they really flourished this year. I remember seeing them when we were out visiting SoCal a few years back. How wonderful to have a bumper crop of mandarin oranges, too. Yum!
ReplyDeleteGiven how dry our 2021 "water year" was, I'm a little perplexed by the performance of the Aeoniums this year, Beth. But maybe they're just celebrating the remarkable December rain ;)
DeleteOh to be able to go out in the garden and pick your own oranges Kris! I'm most envious. My mother grew up in Italy where her parent's garden produced lemons, figs and grapes for her to pick and eat - so different to the fruit I can grow 😀
ReplyDeleteCalifornia used to be a big center for citrus growing but, somewhere along the line, it ceded that role to Florida. I've yet to make a go of growing figs or grapes - or peaches - here but persimmons and guavas do well (not that I've an appetite for either).
Delete