San Marcos Growers LogoSan Marcos Growers
Home Products Purchase Gardens About Us Resources Contact Us
Nursery Closure
Search Utilities
Plant Database
Search Plant Name
Detail Search Avanced Search Go Button
Search by size, origins,
details, cultural needs
Website Search Search Website GO button
Search for any word
Site Map
Retail Locator
Plant Listings

PLANT TYPE
PLANT GEOGRAPHY
PLANT INDEX
ALL PLANT LIST
PLANT IMAGE INDEX
PLANT INTROS
SPECIALTY CROPS
NEW  2026 PLANTS

LIVE AVAILABILITY
  for JULY


Natives at San Marcos Growers
Succulents at San Marcos Growers
 Weather Station

 
Products > Plants - Browse Alphabetically > Aeonium arboreum 'Electra'
 
Aeonium arboreum 'Electra' - Purple Pinwheel Aeonium
   
Image of Aeonium arboreum 'Electra'
[2nd Image]
Habit and Cultural Information
Category: Succulent
Family: Crassulaceae (Stonecrops)
Origin: Canary Islands (Atlantic Ocean)
Evergreen: Yes
Red/Purple Foliage: Yes
Flower Color: Yellow
Bloomtime: Summer
Synonyms: [A. 'Pinwheel']
Height: 1-2 feet
Width: 2-3 feet
Exposure: Sun or Shade
Seaside: Yes
Summer Dry: Yes
Deer Tolerant: Yes
Irrigation (H2O Info): Low Water Needs
Winter Hardiness: 25-30° F
Aeonium arboreum 'Electra' (Purple Pinwheel Aeonium) - A striking dark-purple succulent which forms branched stems to 2 feet tall with very uniform full rosettes to 6 inches across with many dark purple leaves at the stem tips that are paler on their backsides and green when first emerging, giving the plant a two-toned effect.

Plant in full sun near the coast to partial shade inland in a well-drained soil and water occasionally to infrequently. Cold hardy to around 27 degrees F. Like Aeonium arboreum this plant should do well near the coast, tolerate drought and be resistant to deer predation.

This cultivar is unique in that it holds more leaves in the rosettes than the other Aeonium arboreum cultivars 'Atropurpureum' and 'Zwartkop' with leaves shorter than 'Zwartkop' and green when emerging (a bit like the larger Cyclops), giving the rosette heads a very full pinwheel look. Also unique about this plant is that its inflorescence of yellow flowers emerges from below and within the rosette and arching outwards instead of being terminal and erect. This makes the plant less showy in bloom but, most importantly, the rosette does not die back after flowering. We first saw this beautiful plant at Robin Stockwell's Succulent Garden's nursery where it was listed as 'Pinwheel', which tends to be a common name for many of this type of Aeonium. Robin has since decided to name it 'Electra' after his daughter. For more information about the species and a listing of other selections and hybrids of it, see our listing of Aeonium arboreum

Information displayed on this page about Aeonium arboreum 'Electra' is based on our research conducted about this plant in our nursery library as well as from information provided by reliable online resources. We also include our own observations made about it as it has grown in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers in our nursery field. We will also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.

 
San Marcos Growers closed for regular business at the end of 2025 as the property is being developed for affordable housing.
While our gates remain closed, we will open them by appointment so we can liquidate remaining plants, supplies and equipment. The plants remaining in the field are listed on our Live Inventory Page.
 
  [MORE INFO]