Genus Reference
Sempervivum
Hens-and-chicks: hardy alpine rosettes for cold climates and living walls.
The Complete Sempervivum Guide: Identification, Cultivation & Propagation
Comprehensive guide to the genus Sempervivum: alpine origins, taxonomy, cold-hardy cultivation, monocarpy, propagation from offsets, and common problems, with links to species and cultivar guides.
Read the guide →Species & Cultivars
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Aphids on Sempervivum: Identification, Damage, and Treatment
Aphids on Sempervivum cluster at stem bases, inside tight rosettes, and on flower spikes. Root aphids are a less visible but more damaging cause of slow decline. Both respond to physical removal, insecticidal soap, and improved growing conditions.
Sempervivum Winter Damage: Assessment and Recovery
Sempervivum is frost-hardy to −20°C or below, but winter damage still occurs — usually from wet-then-freeze cycles, container freeze-through, late frost on new spring growth, or poor drainage. Most damage is cosmetic and fully recoverable.
Sempervivum Rotting in Summer: Causes and Prevention
Sempervivum can rot in summer despite being alpine and drought-tolerant. Hot, humid air combined with water sitting in tight rosettes causes Botrytis crown rot. Poor drainage in heavy summer rain causes root rot. Both require different interventions.
Sempervivum Turning Brown: Causes and What to Do
Sempervivum rosettes turn brown from sunburn, winter frost damage, drought, root rot, or the natural death of a monocarpic flowering rosette. Each cause has a distinct pattern and remedy.
Sempervivum Leaves Soft: Rot vs Drought — How to Tell the Difference
Soft leaves in Sempervivum can mean drought or rot — opposite causes with opposite fixes. This guide explains how to diagnose the difference by texture, smell, symptom location, and recent conditions, and what to do once you have identified the cause.
Sempervivum Not Producing Chicks: Why and What to Do
Sempervivum not producing offsets is usually caused by insufficient light, a very young plant, slow-offsetting species, or root damage. Bright full sun and a healthy root system are the two most important factors for reliable offset production.
Sempervivum Leaves Curling: Cold, Drought, and Heat Stress
Sempervivum leaves curl inward as a protective physiological response to cold, drought, or heat stress. This guide explains how to read the curl by season and appearance, and when curling signals a real problem rather than normal behaviour.
Sempervivum Pests: Identification Guide for All Common Pests
A complete identification guide to every significant pest of Sempervivum: mealybug, root mealybug, aphid, spider mite, scale insects, fungus gnats, and Endophyllum rust. Covers appearance, damage signs, severity, and treatment for each.
Hens and Chicks Mother Dying After Flowering: What's Normal
The mother rosette in hens and chicks (Sempervivum) always dies after flowering. This is normal monocarpy, not disease. The chicks survive and replace the hen. This guide explains the lifecycle, what to expect, and how to manage the mat after the hen dies.
Sempervivum Color Fading: Why Red and Purple Pigment Disappears
The vivid red, purple, and bronze pigmentation in Sempervivum is produced by anthocyanins — stress pigments that fade when UV, cold, and drought are absent. This guide explains the mechanism, the causes of colour loss, and how to restore vivid pigmentation.
Sempervivum Leaves Papery and Thin: Drought or Root Failure?
Papery, translucent, or parchment-thin leaves in Sempervivum indicate the advanced end of the water-deficit spectrum. Causes include extended drought, root rot preventing uptake, root mealybug infestation, and winter desiccation. Each requires a different response.
Sempervivum 'Mahogany': Cultivar Profile & Care
Cultivar profile of Sempervivum 'Mahogany', a hybrid houseleek flushing deep brown with red tips in summer, fully frost-hardy and freely offsetting outdoors.
Jovibarba allionii: An Outlier Among the Houseleeks
Profile of Jovibarba allionii from the Alps, the rolling hens-and-chicks segregate from Sempervivum, fully hardy to -25 °C with tube-shaped yellow flowers.
Sempervivum tectorum: The Common Houseleek
Identification, cultivation, and propagation notes for Sempervivum tectorum L., the type species of the genus and the classic European roof houseleek.
Sempervivum 'Oddity': The Tubular-Leaved Curiosity
Identification and cultivation notes for Sempervivum 'Oddity', a cultivar with distinctively tubular, inward-curled leaves.
Sempervivum cebenense: The Cévennes Houseleek
Identification and cultivation notes for Sempervivum cebenense Coste, a compact pubescent species endemic to the Cévennes range in southern France.
Sempervivum 'Gold Nugget': The Golden-Leaved Houseleek
Identification and cultivation notes for Sempervivum 'Gold Nugget', a yellow-gold pigmented cultivar in the Chick Charms series.
Sempervivum globiferum: The Rolling-Chicks Houseleek
Identification, cultivation, and propagation for Sempervivum globiferum (formerly Jovibarba globifera), the species whose chicks detach as free-rolling balls.
Sempervivum 'Pacific Blue Ice': The Blue-Glaucous Houseleek
Identification and cultivation notes for Sempervivum 'Pacific Blue Ice', a blue-glaucous cultivar from the Pacific Northwest breeding programme, noted for year-round blue-silver colouring.
Etiolated Sempervivum: Diagnosing and Fixing Light Starvation
How to diagnose etiolation in Sempervivum, distinguish it from monocarpic flowering, and what to do once the rosette has stretched.
Sempervivum 'Kalinda': The Symmetric Pink-Tipped Houseleek
Identification and cultivation notes for Sempervivum 'Kalinda', a symmetric rosette cultivar with soft pink leaf tips on green leaves.
Why Is My Sempervivum Dying? A Diagnostic Guide
A diagnostic workup for a Sempervivum that appears to be dying, covering the three main causes: monocarpic flowering, winter rot, and rust infection.
Sempervivum 'Red Beauty': The Crimson Houseleek
Identification and cultivation notes for Sempervivum 'Red Beauty', a vivid red-pigmented cultivar that intensifies in autumn and cold weather.
Cobweb Sempervivum: The Arachnoideum Group
An introduction to cobweb sempervivums, the Sempervivum arachnoideum group and its hybrids, characterised by white trichome webbing between leaf tips.
Sempervivum 'Black': Near-Black Pigmented Cultivars
Identification and cultivation notes for the near-black Sempervivum cultivars traded as 'Black', including 'Black Prince', 'Black Mini', and similar dark selections.
Sempervivum 'Pilatus': The Swiss Alpine Selection
Identification and cultivation notes for Sempervivum 'Pilatus', a compact red-tipped alpine cultivar named for Mount Pilatus in the Swiss Alps.
Sempervivum Chick Charms: The Commercial Cultivar Series
Overview of the Sempervivum Chick Charms series bred by Chris Hansen at Great Garden Plants, its breeding approach, and notable selections.
Sempervivum heuffelii: The Crown-Dividing Houseleek
Identification, cultivation, and propagation for Sempervivum heuffelii (formerly Jovibarba heuffelii), the crown-dividing Balkan houseleek with its distinct non-stolon offset habit.
Sempervivum montanum: The Mountain Houseleek
Identification and cultivation notes for Sempervivum montanum L., a compact, intensely cold-hardy European alpine houseleek.
Sempervivum 'Ruby Heart': The Red-Centred Houseleek
Identification and cultivation notes for Sempervivum 'Ruby Heart', a green-and-red two-toned cultivar with an intensely pigmented rosette centre.
Sempervivum arachnoideum: The Cobweb Houseleek
Identification, cultivation, and propagation notes for Sempervivum arachnoideum L., the alpine cobweb houseleek whose rosettes are webbed with white trichome threads.