Plant in full coastal sun to light shade in a well-drained soil and irrigate occasionally. It should be cold hardy to about 25° F. This plant is similar in size and color to Aeonium 'Cyclops' but is lower branching to form more of a mass of rosettes rather than the tall bare stems of Cyclops and Aeonium 'Voodoo'.

This plant came labeled as 'Blackbeard' with a collection of Aeonium received from Stockton succulent grower Alice Waidhofer in 2005. We have not found anyone else growing this plant or much information about who hybridized it, but we think it a very attractive cultivar. In 2010 we received news from John Matthews, a succulent collector and Huntington Botanic Garden volunteer, that the late Jack Catlan had this plant in his collection and thought it to be a hybrid between Aeonium simsii and Aeonium arboreum 'Zwartkop' and Catlan had received it from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. 

The information about Aeonium 'Blackbeard' that is displayed on this web page is based on research conducted in our nursery's horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We will also include observations made about this plant as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens that we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We also incorporate comments that we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they share cultural information that aids others growing this plant.

Please note that after 46 years in business, San Marcos Growers will be discontinuing nursery operations by the end of 2025 and the property will be developed for affordable housing.