Probably stupid questions about aeoniums

[Turkeyhen]

I love aeoniums and would love to create a display similar to this (from Sarah Price's show garden at last year's Chelsea). Obviously they're not hardy so you'd have to bring a big pot in for the winter (or into a greenhouse, which I don't have), or maybe protected outdoors with fleece/straw/hessian (?). And the ones in the ground would have to be dug up (?).

Anyway, I did try recreating the pot using a large galvanised container, and it looked amazing, but alas the tallest aeonium snapped. How the jeff do people grow tall aeoniums (like the one on the left in the ground) without them snapping? Surely it must be possible as the tree aeoniums must get huge in the wild? Any tips from aeonium lovers would be gratefully received

Mine did get pretty tall and flowered well, although one did snap. I then managed to kill them by leaving them out in a frost, so I must buy more.

Genuine question: can you tell me what's attractive about them, because I just can't see it? They always look like something that's gone leggy & past it, to me. I'm willing to be converted but it hasn't happened yet.

Well, in the “wild” (the Canary Islands) the grow in much drier and hotter conditions, making the stems sturdier and harder, so less likely to snap under the weight of the rosettes. In the UK, with wetter and more humid conditions, they grow softer, and can snap more easily (they are succulents after all). They are easy to root though, so a nice grouping can be made which I have done, planting several stems together.

They are not frost-hardy, so need to be taken under cover fairly soon, covering with fleece or similar won’t work. A cool room (spare bedroom?) would be perfect.

Thank you for the replies - it makes sense about the climate difference, especially this year with so much rain. I'm in east anglia, normally very dry. I have lots of small plants from the one that snapped so will have a go at creating a pot with those next spring.

@ifIwerenotanandroid it's okay not to like them 😂 I like how sculptural they are.