Aeonium arboreum

It's wonderful to see them flowering. I've never tried growing them, but am becoming more interested in having a go now.

I do like them when they flower, but most of the year they look kind of awful. They grow much better in Central and Northern California. Maybe they like it cooler and more rain. I haven’t figured out why they don’t do that well here in summer. The climate of San Diego is very similar to the Canary Islands where this species is native.

It's fascinating to me how places can appear to be so similar in conditions and yet, plants don't necessarily behave in the same fashion. They'll thrive in one place but struggle a bit in the other.

That is pretty much the story of my particular corner of the dry tropics here.

It really is amazing, isn’t it? Sometimes it’s all about soil and water and not climate.

Exactly! That's why I often mention the soil type here and the lack of rain water for so much of the year.