Aeonium Leucoblepharum Red Stripe
Synonyms:
Aeonium chrysanthum
Aeonium leucoblepharum var. glandulosum
Sempervivum chrysanthum var. glandulosum
Sempervivum leucoblepharum




Habitat:
This plant is native to northeast Africa, especially Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Uganda. It can also be found in the mountains of Yemen.
Description:
Aeonium leucoblepharum is a perennial succulent that forms a branching shrub up to 75-80 centimeters high and 50 cm wide. Each branch carries a rosette of pointed green-reddish-pink leaves (the color depends on exposure to the sun: if the plant is placed in a bright spot, the leaves become pinker). In the central part of each leaf there is a very beautiful red stripe. These characteristics make it very good to be placed in terracotta pots. The inflorescence is a raceme of yellow flowers, with 7-10 petals. This species is really variable: this means that different individuals of the same species can show significant differences.
Cultivation:
The original environment of Aeonium leucoblepharum is high mountain, so this plant is drought tolerant and needs well-draining soil that can mimic poor, rocky mountain soil. You should water it every two weeks, when you notice that the soil is completely dry. Although it is more cold tolerant than other plants of the genus “Aeonium”, A. leucolepharum should be placed indoors in late autumn and winter, when temperatures drop below 0°C, or it should be protected from frost with mulch if planted outside. Place the plant in a bright place: full sun exposure enhances the pink tones ​​ although the plant grows without problems even in partial shade.
Curiosity:
Plants of the genus Aeonium are very efficient in cleaning the environment and very robust. Because of these characteristics, they are, among plants, studied by NASA for future use within spacecraft. Its name derives from the Greek word aionios, which means eternal, immortal, a name that gained both for its strength and for its affinity with the genus Sempervivum. In fact, Aeonium are extremely robust plants even for the standard of the large succulent family; they can tolerate long periods of drought as well as short periods of intense cold.