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Sempervivums are available in a great variety of vibrant colors, but within a year's worth of growing time Sempervivums can undergo several color changes.
People going to the local nursery at a particular time of the year or shopping online for
Sempervivums may not be aware of the assortment of color changes that occur within these plants
due to seasonal and zonal differences.
A certain amount of color information can be obtained from the All Things Plants (ATP)
Sempervivum database. Access to the database enables one to look at thousands of Sempervivum
photos contributed throughout the year by ATP members. The search for a particular species or cultivar
will bring one to a general information screen filled with data specific to Sempervivum, general plant
information, and a popular thumbnail photo of the plant. Scroll down toward the bottom half of the
screen to see the collection of many thumbnail photos for that particular Sempervivum cultivar.
Color changes can be noted and partially traced back to differences in growing seasons through
the year as photographed by the same person or to differences in growing zones as photographed
by different people throughout the country and the world.
Below is a thumbnail photo of Sempervivum 'Santino' taken by an ATP member. Click on the photo to see details that include the color display of the plant, the date the photo was taken, and the location where the photo was taken These details can provide the season and zone information with which the photo's plant coloring is associated.
Here are photos of color changes seen in Sempervivum 'Dune'.
The first was taken in spring, the second taken in summer
Certainly, even without any written details, an overall scan of the many available thumbnails can
provide a pretty good idea of a specific cultivar's own distinct coloring and variations.
Here is a link to the collection of more photos of Sempervivum 'Plastic'. Click and then scroll toward the bottom of the page. Hen and Chicks (Sempervivum 'Plastic')
Of course, seasonal and zonal differences are just two factors that affect the coloring of Sempervivums.
There are several other growing factors/conditions that influence color changes
in these vibrantly colored plants. Here is a link that lists these factors:
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