Aeonium 'Sunburst'
Aeonium 'Sunburst is a large, showy variegated cultivar in the genus Aeonium, grown for the bold cream-and-green stripes and rosy pink margins of its rosettes. Its parentage is usually attributed to Aeonium davidbramwellii, and it is sometimes sold under the common name copper pinwheel for the way the leaf edges blush copper-pink in strong light. Care follows the parent species.
Each rosette can reach 15–20 cm across on a stout, branching stem, so an established plant becomes a small shrubby cluster of pinwheels held up on bare woody trunks. The broad, spoon-shaped leaves are the cultivar's signature: a green central band flanked by wide creamy-yellow stripes, with the outer edge flushing pink to reddish-copper — a blush that deepens with bright light and cool nights. Like most Aeonium, it is winter-growing and enters a semi-dormant, tighter-rosette state through the heat of summer.
Description
'Sunburst' is a variegated, caulescent (stem-forming) aeonium. The rosettes are large, flat and open, made up of thick, glossy, obovate leaves marked with longitudinal cream and green variegation and edged in pink. With age the plant produces several branches, each tipped by its own rosette on a smooth grey stem. As a monocarpic aeonium, an individual rosette dies after flowering, but because the plant branches freely the whole clump usually carries on from its remaining heads. When it does bloom, it sends up a conical cluster of small, pale, star-shaped flowers.
Because the variegation reduces the amount of chlorophyll, 'Sunburst' grows a little more slowly and is a touch more sensitive to scorch and cold than plain green aeoniums.
Cultivation
Grow 'Sunburst' as for the parent species; see Aeonium davidbramwellii and the Aeonium genus page for full detail. In short, it wants bright light, a free-draining but not purely mineral mix (aeoniums appreciate a little more organic matter and moisture than desert cacti), and water while it is in active growth through the cooler months. Ease off in hot, dry summer weather when the plant naturally rests and the rosettes close up.
A few notes specific to this variegated cultivar:
- Give it good light, but harden it in. Bright light brings out the pink margins and keeps the rosettes compact, yet the pale, low-chlorophyll tissue sunburns more readily than green forms. Acclimatise gradually and shade from the fiercest afternoon sun.
- Watch for reversion. Occasionally a rosette or branch throws out all-green (or all-cream) growth. All-green shoots are more vigorous and will slowly take over if left, so pinch them out to keep the variegation; pure cream shoots lack chlorophyll and won't survive on their own.
- Protect from frost. Like the rest of the genus it is not frost-hardy — keep it above freezing and grow it as a container or conservatory plant in cold climates.
Propagation is by stem cuttings: a branch or rosette taken with a length of stem, allowed to callus, then rooted in a gritty mix. This keeps the variegation true, whereas seed (if it is even set) will not come true. See Watering and Repotting for general technique.
See also
- Aeonium — the genus overview
- Aeonium davidbramwellii — the parent species
- Propagation — cuttings · Soil and potting mix · Watering · Repotting · Pests and diseases