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Are you a plant enthusiast looking for a hardy succulent that can survive some neglect? Look no further than Sempervivum – one of the most popular and diverse succulent plants you’ll ever see. With a variety of colors and shapes, this perennial plant can live for more than two or three years before it flowers and dies.
Commonly known as Houseleek, Sempervivum has such a wide range of varieties that it’s hard to keep track of them all. But one thing is clear – they’re all hardy plants that form leaf rosettes and bloom on elongated stems before the individual rosette dies.
And the best part? All sempervivum varieties are easy to grow and care for, and they’ll survive in areas where many others won’t.
So, if you’re ready to add a tough and beautiful plant to your collection, read on and discover everything you need to know about the different types of sempervivum plants!
What Is Sempervivum?
Also known as Hen & Chicks, the Sempervivum is a genus of over 40 flowering plants. Its name is a Latin word that means ‘forever alive.’ It is also a succulent perennial plant creating mats of eye-catching compact rosettes. It can readily offset and is ideal as a groundcover plant.
Commonly called Houseleeks, the Sempervivum is a hardy succulent originating from mountainous or rocky regions. One of the most exciting aspects of this plant is its ability to survive severe drought and temperatures.
Thanks to their hardiness and robust structure, these plants are increasingly becoming popular among gardeners and enthusiasts. Sempervivum is also a gorgeous plant primarily due to its rosettes, which are spirally patterned leaves, with each of the rosettes regarded as a single plant.
Apart from these exciting features, this plant can grow stunning blooms in the early spring to summer seasons, and following the completion of blooming, it dies. It can also produce small seed-filled fruits.
As mentioned earlier, the Sempervivum is an easy-to-grow succulent as it can survive in cold or hot temperatures with low or high-level light conditions.
If you are looking for colorful, cold-hardy succulents, Sempervivum suits the picture and can even change colors from time to time all year. However, these plants have wide varieties, which we’ll look at below.
Most Popular Sempervivum Varieties
1. Thunder Plant (Sempervivum tectorum)
Sempervivum tectorum has several common names, including Thunder Plant, Common Houseleek, and True Houseleek. It is one of the hardiest houseleek varieties and is commonly considered s species of the genus sempervivum.
This plant will require neutral to acidic soil and minimal fertilizer application to produce more giant rosettes and an abundance of offshoots.
The rosette can grow up to 4 cm in poor soils and 15cm in more nutrient-rich soils. After some years, it will start blooming between July and August.
After that, the stem will stretch to about 30cm tall and produce purple-pink star-shaped blooms on the edges. The thunder plant can convert the nutrients from fertilizer into more giant and healthy rosettes.
2. Sempervivum ‘Fashion Diva’
If you want the best Sempervivum for indoor or landscape gardening, the fashion diva variety is worth considering.
This plant can fit into most color palettes thanks to its bright red rosettes with auburn green to yellow highlights in some seasons. Fashion Diva also boasts watermarks or corrugated margins of natural wax, helping it to tolerate direct sun.
3. Gold Nugget
Also known as Sempervivum Chick Charms, the Gold Nugget is an eye-catching variety featuring stunning colors that changes with the season. It is among the first sempervivums to boast gold foliage, hence the name.
It also features dense clusters of leaves starting a yellowy-green at the base before morphing into a vibrant orange.
The stunning leaf colors of the gold nugget make the whole plant resemble a showy and vibrant flame. However, apart from the color, this sempervivum variety can thrive with minimal effort and survive low-quality soil and drought.
Immediately it starts to produce offspring around the base of the parent plant; you will forever covet the gold nugget.
Meanwhile, hardy in zones 5 to 10, this plant can only grow up to 3 inches tall and tends to produce yellow and golden colors during the fall. It also produces pink flowers.
4. Cobweb Houseleek (Sempervivum arachnoideum)
Commonly known as cobweb houseleek, the arachnoideum is one of the most popular varieties of the genus sempervivum.
It features a gorgeous green rosette with white hair at the edges, making the plant look like a spider web. This specie produces small pink flowers in the summer season.
Cobweb houseleek is a clump-forming variety that thrives in partial or full sun. When growing it indoors, keep it close to a southeast-facing window. Whereas, if you are growing outdoors, it will require a slightly shaded area.
Again, the arachnoideum can survive temperatures below 50 degrees Fahrenheit and don’t overwater it to avoid causing root rot or killing the plant. It will also help if you use a well-draining compost or soil for this plant.
5. Berry Blues
Berry blues is a sempervivum variety that spreads incredibly over the ground in your backyard or a rock garden. It features blue-green foliage surrounding an almost burgundy middle and can grow up to 4 inches tall.
This plant can bear offsets and sprawl to about one foot before it blooms. It can survive cold than most other varieties but can hardly tolerate heat as much as others. Meanwhile, the berry blue plant is hardy in USDA zones 3 to 8.
6. Berry Bomb
If you want to grow a beautiful sempervivum species in your indoor collections, Berry Bomb should be among your top alternatives.
Once you see this variety’s beauty in your space, you’ll undoubtedly be tempted to leave it where you planted it, whether in a rock garden or along a wall.
In zones 5 to 10, the Berry Bomb is an eye-catching variety featuring cup-shaped leaves that create deep clusters of three-to-four-inch rosettes that come in burgundy gap color during early spring.
Then, in other seasons, the foliage becomes greener and more silver than the berry color but remains healthy and beautiful.
7. Sempervivum Bernstein
Bernstein sempervivum is one of the most beautiful varieties on our list, featuring stunning copper-orange rosettes with red-burgundy leaf tips.
With incredible color combinations, this plant will add a great tropical vibe to your succulent indoor landscape. Like most other varieties, this species also creates clumps.
Meanwhile, Sempervivum Bernstein can grow up to 3 inches, while the rosettes can reach about 4 inches. This variety will do well in bright sun. Hence, you must provide at least 4 to 5 hours of direct sun to maintain its stunning color combinations and appearance.
Again, Bernstein can survive temperatures as low as 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Like other varieties, it will not tolerate overwatering, as it can kill the plant. If you are growing the plant in a container, it will help if you use well-draining soil and it can tolerate gritty soil.
8. Sempervivum Ciliosum
If you are a succulent lover looking to grow a fuzzy plant with a frosted appearance, the Sempervivum ciliosum is for you.
It features leaves covered with tiny hairs, making the plant fluffy. While it is an eye-catching species, it is also a soft addition to a traditionally patterned and geometric plant.
The ciliosum variety also contrasts pots and beds with other succulent species. In USDA zones 5 to 10, this variety is cold-hardy and can survive snow and sunshine; hence, you have nothing to worry about across the seasons.
However, it would help if you give them the right growing conditions possible, such as well-draining soil, enough sun, and minimal watering to enable them to maintain steady growth and spread every year. Meanwhile, the ciliosum is a dwarf variety that can only reach 3 inches tall.
9. Sempervivum Eddy
Talking about the sempervivum variety with the most beautiful of appearances, Eddy is one of them. In other words, it is one of the most eye-catching sempervivum varieties on our list, thanks to its dark red leaves with a hue of green in the middle.
Eddy plants will do best on a rocky surface in complete sun condition, which will help them to produce stunning pink blooms at maturity.
10. Rolling Hen & Chicks (Sempervivum globiferum)
As long as Rolling Hen & Chicks variety is concerned, it is another popular attractive sempervivum. It represents a different section than other houseleek varieties in our list, especially during flowering.
For instance, the globiferum produces tubular to bell-shaped flowers, often in yellow.
Sempervivum globiferum has varieties of subspecies that can tolerate different soil conditions ranging from acidic to calcareous.
However, the most popular varieties you can always find include Mrs. Giuseppi and Tederheid. Both varieties are almost the same, but the latter is larger and more tolerant of moist conditions.
11. Sempervivum ‘Terracotta Baby’
Have you ever seen a plant with a strange look, yet you will find it hard to remove from your collections, as it offers something new and different? Sempervivum ‘Terracotta Baby’ is the best definition of this plant.
It features long spoon-shaped burgundy leaves, growing exotic during spring and fading during fall. Unique.
12. Sempervivum ‘Jade Rose’
Jade Rose is another interesting sempervivum variety that will inspire your indoor and outdoor landscapes, thanks to its compact rosettes of narrow emerald-green and red leaves. It also produces a hairy margin of tiny white cilia along the tip of the plant, hence, adding to its attractive appearance.
13. Raspberry Ice
This variety deserves to be called Raspberry Ice. In other words, whoever gave it that name, did a great job, as it is befitting of the plant thanks to its large rosettes featuring burgundy or deep purple tips.
It is also surrounded by fluffy hairs, giving the plant an icy look, which is where its name originates.
Raspberry Ice sticks low to the ground and sprawls rapidly, making a perfect ground cover in the right conditions. On the other hand, you can plant it in big containers and uproot it every season to fill your indoor space with its stunning looks.
In USDA zones 5 to 10, this variety can only reach 3 inches tall and prefers partial to full sun conditions.
14. Green Wheel
The Green Wheel variety of Sempervivum is a plain green plant that might look weird compared to the strange and attractive colors.
Yet, it is anything but boring, as its bright green foliage is even more stunningly attractive than other so-called more colorful plants out there.
The green wheel also has the densest clusters of other varieties. Even though it is common, it is not mainly a widespread variety; hence, it could be hard to find. But the good news is that it is as cheap as other, more common varieties.
In USDA zones 5 to 10, this plant can only reach 3 inches tall and does well in partial to full sun.
15. Sempervivum Desert Bloom
Last but not least on our list is the Sempervivum Desert Bloom variety. It grows bluish-green foliage and, in the spring, produces great rose-pink-colored leaf tips.
Once it matures, this plant grows around 5 to inches and can bear eye-catching medium-pink-colored blooms in the summer.
Desert Bloom is a perennial succulent plant that is easy to care for, making it a perfect plant for beginner gardeners. It would help if you placed them close to a southeast-facing window, as they enjoy the bright sun to maintain their stunning color combinations.
This houseleek variety doesn’t require regular watering to avoid soggy conditions resulting in root rot and succulents dropping their leaves. Again, use well-draining soil and provide a proper drainage system in your container.
Conclusion
If you have been planning to own an easy-to-grow indoor garden with a wide variety of plants with stunning colors, you have it all with Sempervivum species.
Hens & Chicks plants, as commonly called, will save you much stress in terms of maintenance and still offer the colorful appearance and feel you’ve ever desired. Sempervivum varieties are perfect indoor and outdoor succulents for every gardener and plant enthusiast.
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