Origin:
Mutation of the Aeonium ‘Blushing Beauty’.

Known names:
‘‘Athena’ (most common name), 雅典娜, 雅典娜法师.

Creation date / Creator:
First appearances in cultivation estimated around 2020-2021 in China. International marketing certified no later than February 20, 2022. Discoverer and multiplier of origin unknown.

Botanical description

The Aeonium ‘Athena’ is a variegated shrubby Aeonium (variegata) resulting from a mutation of Aeonium ‘Blushing Beauty’. It belongs to a lineage particularly appreciated for its velvety textures and evolving colors, from which several renowned cultivars also come, such as ‘Princess’.

This variety is renowned for its great variability of expression. Depending on the growing conditions, the light or the strain cultivated, its appearance can change spectacularly, which makes its identification sometimes difficult.

A particularly variable variegation

One of the main features of the Aeonium ‘Athena’ is its ability to greatly change its appearance throughout the seasons.

In low light conditions or when growth is slowed, foliage may be predominantly green with only slight reddish tinges to the leaf margins. In certain subjects, the variegation can even become very discreet, or even almost disappear for several months.

Conversely, when the plant benefits from high light associated with active growth, the anthocyanin pigments develop more. The edges of the leaves then take on bright pink to intense red hues which contrast elegantly with the green areas.

This significant plasticity explains why two plants marketed under the name ‘Athena’ may have very different colorings.

Variations depending on the strains

Observations made by collectors suggest that there probably exist several lineages or clones of Aeonium ‘Athena’.

Certain strains easily develop spectacular colors, with nuances:

hot pink;
deep red;
golden yellow;
or even orange.

Others, on the contrary, maintain much greener foliage all year round, presenting only a slight colored border.

This diversity of expression today constitutes one of the most interesting characteristics of this variety, but also one of the most confusing for amateurs.

Foliage inherited from ‘Blushing Beauty’

Like its parent ‘Blushing Beauty’, the Aeonium ‘Athena’ has slightly downy foliage, a relatively rare characteristic among shrubby Aeoniums.

This velvety texture delicately diffuses the light and accentuates the color variations depending on the exposure, further reinforcing its ornamental interest.

Culture and behavior

The Aeonium ‘Athena’ is a vigorous variety which has good horticultural qualities.

Its main characteristics are:

Growth: good;
Ability to reject: good;
Force: correct;
Fragility: no particular sensitivity observed.

Like all Aeoniums, it nevertheless remains sensitive to frost and appreciates a very draining substrate.

Abundant light exposure, without excess burning sun during the high summer heat, promotes the appearance of its most beautiful colors.

A major relative of modern Aeoniums

Beyond its ornamental interest, the Aeonium ‘Athena’ today occupies an important place in the genealogy of contemporary Aeonium variegata.

It is notably recognized as the direct parent of Aeonium ‘Princess’, which inherits its remarkable ability to produce large colored areas and numerous highly variegated rosettes.

This genetic proximity explains the similarities that can sometimes be observed between these two cultivars, even if ‘Princess’ generally develops more intense and more stable colors.