Why people love it
Hens and chicks are the succulent for cold climates. The mother rosette (the “hen”) sends out runners topped with baby rosettes (the “chicks”). Over time, they fill a pot or a gap in a stone wall. Unlike most succulents, they need a cold winter. They’re happiest outdoors all year round.
Care in a nutshell
- Plant it outside. Sun, fresh air, and seasonal temperature changes keep it compact and colorful.
- Drainage beats everything. Cold is fine. Cold and wet is what kills them. Use gravel, slopes, or raised containers.
- Let the hen go. Each rosette blooms once, on a tall, strange stalk, and then dies. Its chicks carry on. Twist out the dead rosette and fill the gap with a chick.
Watch out for
- Rot in soggy soil, especially in wet winters.
- Stretched, pale rosettes indoors: they need much more light. Move them outside.
Fun fact: Sempervivum means “always living”. In parts of Europe they were grown on roofs, supposedly to protect houses from lightning.
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