Hens and chicks

Sun

Full sun; light afternoon shade can help in very hot climates. Too much shade produces loose, stretched rosettes.

Water

Low once established. Water new plants during dry spells, then allow the soil to dry between waterings; winter wet is a greater threat than drought.

Soil

Lean, gritty, sharply drained soil, including sandy or stony ground. Avoid heavy, wet clay and rich, moisture-retentive compost.

Height

0.25-0.5 ft (0.08-0.15 m) in leaf; flower stalks reach 1-2 ft (0.3-0.6 m)

Spread

1-2 ft (0.3-0.6 m) as a colony, gradually wider where offsets can establish

Flowers

Summer; star-shaped pink to reddish-purple flowers in clusters on upright, leafy stalks. Rosettes usually take several years to flower.

Foliage

Evergreen. Dense rosettes of fleshy, pointed green leaves, often flushed or tipped reddish-purple. Colour varies with season, exposure and plant selection.

Growth

Moderate in well-drained soil, spreading through offsets rather than runners over long distances.

Care needed

Low

• Plant with the rosette base at soil level, not buried, in a position where water drains away quickly.
• Water the soil thoroughly during prolonged dry weather, then let it dry; do not keep pots standing in saucers of water.
• Usually give no fertiliser; rich feeding encourages soft, loose growth.
• Use a thin gravel mulch to keep damp soil away from the lower leaves; avoid bark mulch around the crowns.
• Detach crowded offsets in spring or early summer and replant them with space to form new colonies.
• Keep containers freely drained through winter; in persistently wet climates, move them beneath an open-sided rain shelter.

Pruning. No routine pruning is needed. After flowering, remove the spent stalk and its dying parent rosette without disturbing the surrounding offsets; gently pull away loose, dead lower leaves as needed.

Spring

Remove loose dead leaves and check that winter debris has not blocked drainage.

Spring

Plant new rosettes or repot crowded containers into a gritty succulent mix.

Early summer

Detach and plant offsets, watering lightly until they root.

Summer

Check containers during prolonged drought and water only when the growing mix is dry.

Late summer

Remove finished flower stalks and the parent rosettes that die after flowering.

Autumn

Clear fallen leaves from colonies and move vulnerable pots out of persistent winter rain.

Winter

Keep outdoor pots freely drained and avoid watering frozen or already damp soil.

• Plant between rocks or in raised scree beds, where the rosettes soften stone edges without hiding them.
• Combine with low stonecrops and creeping thyme in sunny gravel gardens for contrasting foliage textures.
• Arrange in shallow troughs or bowls with drainage holes for a compact display on steps or patios.
• Use in sunny dry-stone wall crevices containing enough gritty soil for roots, away from regular foot traffic.

Garden styles it suits: Alpine rock garden, Dry gravel garden, Desert / xeriscape, Low-maintenance, Small-space and Modern rustic.

Plant it with: Creeping thyme, White stonecrop, Mossy saxifrage, Sea thrift, Dwarf bearded iris and Blue fescue.

Wildlife: The summer flowers provide nectar and pollen for bees and other visiting insects.

• Crown and root rot in wet soil: remove rotting plants, improve drainage and replant healthy offsets in a raised, gritty position.
• Vine weevil larvae in containers: inspect roots if rosettes loosen or collapse; remove larvae and use a suitable biological control where available.
• Mealybugs between leaves or around roots: isolate affected pots, remove visible insects and use a locally approved treatment labelled for succulents if needed.
• Loose, elongated growth in shade or rich soil: move plants into stronger light gradually and stop feeding.

Not known to be toxic to cats, dogs, horses or people, including the leaves and flowers. It is not a food plant; eating substantial amounts may still cause digestive upset.

• Cobweb houseleek (Sempervivum arachnoideum)

  Usually has smaller rosettes with conspicuous white, cobweb-like threads stretched between the leaf tips.

• Mexican snowball (Echeveria elegans)

  Has rounded, spoon-shaped, powdery blue-grey leaves and bell-shaped flowers rather than open stars. It is much less cold-hardy.

• Rolling hen-and-chicks (Sempervivum globiferum)

  Produces nearly spherical offsets that detach readily, and pale yellow to greenish-yellow, bell-shaped flowers rather than the open pink stars of common houseleek.

Sempervivum means 'always living', tectorum means 'of roofs' in reference to its traditional planting on roofs, and 'hens and chicks' describes the parent rosette surrounded by offsets.

Propagation. Detach offsets in spring or early summer, preferably once they have small roots, and settle them into gritty, barely moist soil. Seed is possible, but seedlings may vary, especially where other houseleeks grow nearby.

Accepted botanical name

Sempervivum tectorum

In the US and Canada

Introduced in Canada, the lower 48 states and Pacific Basin.

Native range

Albania, Austria, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and Yugoslavia.

Measured

Soil pH 5.5 to 6.5. Average height 21 cm.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0), USDA PLANTS and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.