Aeonium 'Blushing Beauty'

Aeonium 'Blushing Beauty' is a hybrid created in 1984 by Jack Catlin and is the result of a cross between Aeonium canariense and Aeonium arboreum 'Zwartkop'. A relatively large-growing plant, Aeonium 'Blushing Beauty' inherits its overall size, reddish colouration and the leaf form and shape from Aeonium arboreum 'Zwartkop' and from its Aeonium canariense parent, it inherits a light covering of small glandular hairs, particularly on the new growth. Aeonium 'Blushing Beauty' tends to change its colour throughout the seasons and depending upon the environmental stresses it is subjected to. During the winter months, or if receiving an excess of water or shade, it is predominently green but as the weather warms and as the new growth hardens off in spring, it blushes with its purple tones and if grown in a hot sunny situation with sparse water it will develop a deep purple colour. These changing colour characteristics is shares with Aeonium 'Velour', another hybrid developed by Jack Catlin and which derives from the same sibling batch of seedlings. Aeonium Blushing Beauty' was first offered to the public by International Succulent Introductions (ISI) - the plant distribution program of the Huntington Botanical Gardens - in 1992.

John (Jack) William Catin was born November 29 1919 in Springfield, Illinois. From an early age he developed an interest in cacti and succulents, in particular Aeoniums and Haworthias. He later developed a love of other plants including bonsai, Hemerocallis, amaryllids and especially Abutilons, which he also hybridised. In 1983, he received the Southern California Horticulture Institute Award for Outstanding Contributions for Horticulture, in 1992 he received the Descanso Bonsai Society Golden Leaf Award and in 1993 he was awarded the CSSA Special Service Award for creating significant hybrids, popularizing the hobby and sharing genetically important Haworthias with the Succulent Plant Trust, a UK charity which unfortunately no longer operates. Jack passed away in June 2008 at the age of 89.

Aeonium 'Blushing Beauty' requires a free-draining substrate and can be grown in sun or partial shade during the summer months. As autumn develops, it should be brought back inside before the first frosts to a cool glasshouse or a warm well-lit room for the duration of the winter. If under glass, a fleece will be needed to cover it during the worst of the subzero temperatures. It can be grown indoors all year round in a warm well-lit room but benefits from being outside in the summer. Aeoniums like to be kept a little moist during the winter, growing during the cooler months. They can be given a little water every few weeks but don't overdo it. Misting them as you would your other houseplants is also beneficial and encourages aerial roots from the base of the rosettes.