Sempervivum

Common name: Houseleek, Live-for-ever, Rabbit's Cabbage, St Patrick's Rose
Family: Crassulaceae

Origin: Mountainous regions of Spain

Description: Sempervivums, or houseleeks, are reliable and hardy, succulent, alpine plants that are easy to grow. A vast range of distinctive varieties with different sizes, shapes and colouring of the rosettes are available. Some even have decorative 'cobweb coverings over the plant which give additional interest.  often attractively coloured, with star-shaped pink or pale yellow flowers in summer

Uses:  Commonly grown in containers and rock gardens.  Also good in stonework, gravel gardens and vertical walls as they have the ability to grow in very limited amounts of compost.

Climate/Position:  Best grown in sunny location to ensure the strongest colours of leaves throughout summer. Tolerant of extreme temperatures and drought as they come from open rocky mountainous regions of Spain.

Height/Spread:  Rosette forming clumps 20 cm in height spreading to 30 cm+

Soil Requirements:  Free draining soil is essential to prevent winter wet rot and again ensures the strongest colours.  Mix grit into the soil and add to the surface of the soil after planting.

Pruning:  Rosettes which have flowered will then die so removal of these dead rosettes will keep the clump looking fresh and tidy.

Special Requirements:  Increased easily by removing offsets which each have roots, and then potting them up.

Additional Interest: The plants are monocarpic - when they have flowered then it dies, but is soon replaced by other new rosettes, called offsets which in turn produce more offsets to form a clump.