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…
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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.
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…
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.
Sempervivum Rotting in Summer: Causes and Prevention
Sempervivum can rot in summer despite being alpine and drought-tolerant.
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.
Sempervivum Color Fading: Why Red and Purple Pigment Disappears
Red, purple, and bronze pigmentation in Sempervivum is produced by anthocyanins — stress pigments that fade when UV, cold, and drought are absent.
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.
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.
Sempervivum Pests: Identification Guide for All Common Pests
Identification guide to every significant pest of Sempervivum: mealybug, root mealybug, aphid, spider mite, scale, fungus gnats, and Endophyllum rust.
Sempervivum Leaves Curling: Cold, Drought, and Heat Stress
Sempervivum leaves curl inward as a protective physiological response to cold, drought, or heat stress.
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.
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 '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.
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 'Oddity': The Tubular-Leaved Curiosity
Identification and cultivation notes for Sempervivum 'Oddity', a cultivar with distinctively tubular, inward-curled leaves.
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.
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 '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…
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.
Sempervivum heuffelii: The Crown-Dividing Houseleek
Identification, cultivation, and propagation for Sempervivum heuffelii, the crown-dividing Balkan houseleek with its distinct non-stolon offset habit.
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.
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 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.
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 '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 montanum: The Mountain Houseleek
Identification and cultivation notes for Sempervivum montanum L., a compact, intensely cold-hardy European alpine houseleek.
Sempervivum globiferum: The Rolling-Chicks Houseleek
Identification, cultivation, and propagation for Sempervivum globiferum, the species whose chicks detach as free-rolling balls.
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 '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…
Sempervivum arachnoideum: The Cobweb Houseleek
Identification, cultivation, and propagation notes for Sempervivum arachnoideum L., the alpine cobweb houseleek whose rosettes are webbed with white…
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.