Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Sempervivum; my favorite plant(s) in the garden this week!

I’m kind of cheating at my own game, picking a whole group of plants rather than a particular plant…but they just look so good mashed together here. Usually when I plant sempervivum I spread them around, giving them room to expand. Here I was trying to fill in a corner where pesky squirrels continually dug.

Are you wondering why there’s a muddy channel surrounding them in the image above? Because I’ve removed some of the brick edging to help picture the expanded planting area taking over parts of the lawn. This grouping was right at the “old” corner.

It’s so wonderful as-is that I’m going to try and move it out to the new corner en-masse.

I stopped tracking the name of my different sempervivum long ago, so I can’t tell you specifically what these are.

I have a (bad?) habit of picking up 1 or 2 Semps weekly when I grocery shop (only in the spring and summer). Our local “has everything” grocery chain (Fred Meyer) has a decent nursery for basics like this, and their prices are good, usually on sale 2 for $5. It’s an easy way to amass quite a collection!

The stats…
  • Common name: Houseleek or Hens and Chicks.
  • Most are quite frost resistant; some hardy to as low as zone 4 but they will melt in desert temperatures (a succulent for us in cooler regions!).
  • They dislike damp (although this hasn’t been a problem for me) and prefer full to partial sun.
  • They are monocarpic and will die after blooming. Usually the blooming rosette has been surrounded by smaller plants though, so death won’t mean much of an empty space in the garden.
  • Happy in containers or rock gardens, and great as a ground cover.

All material © 2009-2013 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

25 comments:

  1. A favorite of mine too. I've stopped tracking the names of most of them as well. Yours all mashed together create a wonderful quilted effect.

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    1. I might have to do more "mashing" in the future!

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  2. Beautiful. This is a group of plants I wish I could grow. They do really well in fall, winter and spring, but our hot Central Valley summers push them to the brink, just as you said above. In addition, they're super susceptible to mealy bugs down here and I've lost dozens that way.

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    1. Mealy bugs, really? Wow I don't think I've ever seen a pest on mine (knocking on wood).

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    2. Yep. Mealy bugs can kill one in a matter of days from the center out. It usually happens in late summer when the semps are stressed already.

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  3. likewise I have been addicted. Trying with some luck to get as wide a variety as possible...but are you struggling with s. arachnoideum, too? mine aren't as vigorous as s. tectorum or others.

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    1. Interesting...no I can't say I've ever had any problems with S. arachnoideum, or maybe I'm just not as observant as you are?

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  4. Pretty color combination and they look so good in your garden. It is one that grows where you are but won't do well in our heat. I have some in a small container garden which are brought in during the hot summer.

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    1. When my brother moved to Phoenix (from Spokane) he dug up several of his and took them with him...no go. Dead and dead.

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  5. Your corner of sempervivums looks wonderful. These are such spectacular plants and I love them but some seem much more long lived for me than others. They are particularly nice in pots, too! Your bed expansion looks like it's getting ever closer to becoming reality! How exciting for you to have more space to grow cool plants!

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    1. Occasionally I buy a 4" container and not a month later the biggest plant blooms and dies. That sucks.

      Digging sod all day yesterday...very much a reality! (yay!)

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  6. I love these in spring and early summer when they're so colorful and producing "chicks". Once it heats up though, they're not as good. Plus deer can wipe a beautiful patch out in 10 seconds. I just can't find a good spot in the ground for these!

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    1. Yes I know they can be difficult where it gets truly HOT as it does for you. As for the deer...I am SO thankful I don't have to deal with that problem! (and sorry for those that do)

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  7. I can't imagine a life without them. they are rock stars of the garden!

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  8. Wow...the deer have not discovered ours as yet, so I didn't even know that was something to worry about. I do keep buying different ones, but over time they seem to all end up looking about the same. Maybe the secret is mushing them all together where the differences really show, as you have done.

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    1. Perhaps because you've created an eye-level buffet for the 4-legged invaders they have yet to look down and notice them?

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  9. I've given up memorising names of sempervivums, so many but the best bit is that all of them are so tough and undemanding!

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    1. Do you guys like their blooms? I could take them or leave them but Andrew things they're fabulous.

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    2. Not that bothered with the blooms at all, wish they didn't to be honest. Once the blooms dry up it leaves gaps on the clump that looks unsightly for awhile until the pup take over and fill it in.

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    3. I also wish they wouldn't bloom. Groundcover sedum too -- stop blooming!

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  10. yes these look so good together!!

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  11. Usually semps aren't one of my favorites, but these look really nice!

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  12. Gerhard, I finally found the way to grow them here (sacramento)! I take off most, if not all of the dirt and gently set them on top of crushed gravel or in river rock crevices... Put them in shady conditions and VOILA! I have speeding happy chicks! The first time I ever had success and they have survived/ thrives for a year now. My problems before were too much sun burning them and also trying to use the dirt they were in/ planting them like I would a plant, and they would rot. No dirt needed.

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