Tree of Love Guide: How to Grow & Care for “Aichryson Laxum”

Want an indoor succulent plant that brings love and happiness into the house? The Tree of Love plant is what you need!

Aichryson Laxum, or Tree of Love, as it is otherwise called, is an indoor plant, popular for its unique appearance and for being easy to grow, even by novice growers. The plant received the name “Tree of Love” thanks to its leaves that have a heart-shaped form.

Fun fact to know about the Tree of Love plant: It is believed that these succulents only grow well and bloom if grown in an atmosphere of love, peace, and understanding, where there is no negative energy. If the Tree of love plant loses leaves or doesn’t bloom, it is a sign for the owners to improve their relations.

Now, let’s find out how you should grow and care for your Tree of Love succulent. Keep reading below!

About Tree of Love

• The botanical name of the Tree of Love plant is Aichryson, a name that comes from the Greek language. Its name is derived from “Aei”, which means “forever”, and “chrysos”, which stands for “gold”.
• ‘Tree of Love’ plants are mostly native to the Canary Islands. A few plant species can be found in the Azores, Madeira, Morocco, and Portugal. They typically grow on wet cliffs or can also grow in very humid places such as laurel and pine forests.
• These plants are annual or biennial and they produce volunteer seedlings around themselves after they flower, allowing new plants to grow even if the old one dies.
• The Tree of Love plant can be an excellent present for anyone. It is often gifted to young families at wedding anniversaries because it is believed that this houseplant brings happiness and love to the house.
• They are popular houseplants often offered as gifts and they make for fantastic home and office decorations. As long as you provide them with the right conditions, they will thrive in whatever environment.
• Tree of Love plants are adapted to dry areas but prefer more humid places and partial shade, where they are less exposed to direct sun. They can also tolerate direct sun, but you should protect your plant from the blazing midday sun.
• If you keep your Tree of Love plant in a place with a lot of shade, it may become sparse and not flower.
• ‘Tree of Love’ plants also need to be protected from strong winds as they are quite fragile and can lose their leaves and even die.
• These plants prefer warmer temperatures. If kept in places with temperatures below 55°F (13° C) and little light, Tree of Love plants will probably take a short break and stop growing until moved to more ideal conditions.
• During the active growing period, which is throughout the warm months, ‘Tree of Love’ plants require you to water them moderately, allowing the top half of the soil to dry before you add more water.
• During the rest of the year, the plants only need to be watered so that the potting mixture doesn’t dry out completely.
• After flowering, the ‘Tree of Love’ plants die unless the inflorescence is removed.
• ‘Tree of Love’ plants are particularly vulnerable to spider mites, powdery mealybugs, and nematodes. A good remedy for these pests is medical alcohol. Use a moistened cotton wool to wipe the leaves.

Tree of Love Features: An Overview

• Aichryson Laxum, or Tree of Love, is a succulent with a dwarf-tree-like appearance and ovoid, dark green leaves covered with small white hairs on both sides.
• The leaves of the Tree of Love plant are up to 3 inches (7.5 cm) long and are located at the tip of stems in the form of rosettes.
• The Tree of Love plant is often confused with its “relative” The Money tree because the two are very similar, having the same dwarf-tree-like appearance.
• Tree of Love plants can reach up to 20 inches (50 cm) tall when they are grown in ideal conditions. So, if you want your Tree of Love plant to thrive and grow as big as possible, pay attention to its preferred growing conditions.
• If given the right conditions to grow, your Tree of Love plant will grow an incredible branched cluster of star-like, yellow flowers.

Growing Tree of Love

Although it has a unique, bonsai-like appearance, caring for your Tree of Love plant isn’t much more complicated than it is with other succulents. Tree of love plants are actually popular for being easy to grow, even by novice growers, thanks to their ability to be very tolerant of various conditions.

For example, Tree of Love plants can tolerate shade and full sun as well. Ideally, you should keep your Tree of Love plant in partial shade and avoid direct and bright sunlight. Yet, in winter, when your plant stops growing, it’s best to move it to a sunnier spot.

Keeping your Tree of Love plant in warmer temperatures is another important thing to keep in mind. These plants prefer temperatures above 55°F (13 °C), so it would be best to keep them indoors at average room temperatures. If, however, you want to plant your Tree of Love plant outdoors, consider that the minimum temperature tolerated is 36°F (2°C). If you live in an area with a colder climate, we recommend thinking twice before planting your Tree of Love outdoors.

Your Tree of Love plant will also need some feeding to grow healthy and to flower. We recommend applying fertilizer every two weeks during the active growth period. During the resting period, avoid fertilizing the plant. It’s important to be moderate with how much fertilizer you use because Tree of Love plants can really flower themselves to death.

Extra tip: To ensure that your Tree of Love plant thrives, don’t forget to offer it plenty of positive energy and good vibes.

Planting Tree of Love

Planting Tree of Love plants is just as easy as caring for them.

You can use a standard potting mixture to plant your Tree of Love. But, we recommend using sandy, loamy, or loamy clay soil for good drainage, especially because Tree of Love plants don’t like wet feet.

The good news is that you don’t have to use large pots to plant your Tree of Love since this plant has a small root system. A 4-5 inch (10-13cm) pot is enough for your plant to mature and flower. Since you don’t need to use a large pot, you can place your Tree of Love plant even in small areas of your home.

Keep in mind that if you care well for your Tree of Love plant and remove its inflorescence after flowering so that it doesn’t die, you should move it to a bigger pot in spring because it will start growing again.

If you want to plant your Tree of Love outdoors, in your garden, keep in mind that the soil should have mild acidity, around 6.1 to 6.5 pH. Also, consider the minimum temperature tolerated by this type of plant.

Watering Tree of Love

An important aspect to remember: Tree of Love plants don’t like wet feet! That’s right, you should pay attention to not overwater your Tree of Love plant because overwatering is a sure way to make it die.

Are you familiar with the “soak and dry” method? Well, we’ll make sure that you know what it is so that you don’t provide your Tree of Love plant with more water than it needs: allow the top two inches of soil to dry between waterings.

Use this watering method only during the active growth period in spring. Allow the top half of the soil to dry before you water your plant again. During the winter, you should cut back on the water almost completely. Only water your Tree of Love plant to prevent the potting mixture from drying out completely.

What to do if you overwater your Tree of Love plant?

• Stop watering it while it dries out.
• Place your plant in a spot with shade.
• Check the pot for good drainage.

Propagating Tree of Love

Want more Tree of Love plants in your home? The good news is that propagating Tree of Love plants is really easy as you can do it via small tip cuttings.

During spring or summer, cut apical cuttings about 3-4 inches (8-10 cm) long and remove their lower leaves. Next, plant them in a slightly moistened mixture that contains peat moss and coarse sand. Place the cuttings in a sunny spot, where they have bright light and water them only so that the mixture doesn’t dry out.

In about three to four weeks, the cuttings will form their own root systems, and this is when you must plant them in pots with a soil-based mixture. After planting them into the new pots, you can continue caring for the new plants as you cared for your adult Tree of Love plant.

In Conclusion

Tree of Love plants can be fantastic houseplants. They easily adapt to various conditions, require little care, and can be impressive showpieces in any home environment. So, if you ever come across a Tree of Love succulent, take it home with you. You won’t regret it!