What a great week this has been. Thank you so much Dave and Trish, and all those that participated in the fun.
And to think, we will have a RAFFLE.
I can't wait to see who the companies are. What fun.

I have really enjoyed seeing all the pictures this week!

I will be totally honest. I never gave semps much thought before this week. I thought they were okay, but they didn't grab me. Well, that has all changed! I want some. On second thought, I need some! Thanks to everyone for changing my mind about this beautiful plant!

Way to go Natalie. Maybe you will win some in the Raffle.

Wouldn't that be awesome? Now to find out when it is! I've been saving a few acorns!

I think the raffle will be announce tomorrow.
What a great way for you to get started with sempervivum. You will fall in love with them.

I think I've already fallen in love! I need to get my Dad started on them too. Just not sure how they will do in his zone. He lives outside Bend, OR, but in zone 4a. He has sand instead of soil for the most part, so I think these would do good for him, if I can keep him from watering them too much. I need to do a lot more research first!

Natalie, you will love these plants. A 4 inch container is 2.99 to may be 5.00 nothing like other plants. If you loose one it's affordable to just buy another! The coloration is amazing!

Julia, I just hope that I can find them here, but I'm very happy to know that they are so affordable! that is great news! So far, I haven't seen them, but I'll keep looking. Maybe I can mail order them if I can't. I heard of a garden center in the city that I haven't been to yet, so I'll check there when I get back to the city. I would think that Home Depot would have them, but I've never seen them there, either. My choices here are very limited, due to where I live! But, I can order things online, so I'm happy! Are there any good online places that you could recommend?

So, I've got lots and lots of rocks here. It's like rock city! But, they are huge rocks. Boulders would be a better description for a lot of them. I think that I could put some dirt and sand in the nooks of some of them that are pushed close together, and plant them there. Is that a bad idea? I sure hope not! It would make those rocks a lot more enjoyable to look at! And, it would solve my problem of wanting to move all the rocks down the hill, which will never happen in a million years. I'm also a little worried about the amount of rain we get, but I think if I add enough sand to the mix, it will help. I will have to learn as I go, I guess. We've had 6 inches of rain so far this year, not counting the snow, and I consider that wet. What I've read is that these plants don't like wet! Hopefully with good enough drainage, I can get them to survive! I'm on a mission now!

http://cubits.org/TheSemperviv... and SMG Succulents are both great places to buy sempervivum. They need really good drainage. Not sure on the rock planting, Lynn would be a better judge for that. You could make a really neat rock garden with these plants. Find some chicken grit to mix in with soil for drainage..

Thanks Julia! I appreciate the link and name of the other place. Off to check them out!

None of the rocks tightly fit together, so I'd have to put some screen or something over the gaps, which made me think that there would be really good drainage that way. Probably better than what I would get in the ground here. Still have a lot of reading to do!

Wow! The Cubits store is great! I really love the pictures that show the plants during different months! I had no idea that they would change so much! I'll be up half the night, looking at pictures!

Look at what Mark does with his rocks. https://plus.google.com/u/0/ph...
Just fill up the spaces with plenty of dirt.

Wow!! Those pictures are amazing! I love the sedum mixed in too! This gives me so many great ideas! Thanks Lynn!

Natalie, so fun to "see" your excitement about semps! You sure sound like the rest of us! Your rocky environment sounds like a perfect place to grow them. I live in zone 4b and I'm sure they will do fine for you too.

Julia, thanks for posting the link!

The only thing you might have to pay attention to is giving them some protection from the hottest part of your day (second half of day), because of your hot dry summers.
@markb might be able to give us some advice on growing them in and around rocks.

I love the colours in that jobs beard 'Feurrad ' .
Natalie you should try drilling holes in some of your big rocks and growing semps on the shadier side .

Paddy, that made me laugh! Luckily we have no neighbors close by, because they would think that I had lost my mind, if I started drilling holes in rocks to plant thing in! Not sure that I'd need to go that route, but it is a good idea!

Lynn, the lack of shade here could be an issue. We're on the South side of a river canyon, so we get lots of wind, as well. It tends to dry things out quickly. We average about 25 inches of rain though, so that helps. I just checked the rain gauge, and we've had 7.66 inches this year. That was more than I thought! We do get rain in the summer too, but it does get hot here. I'll figure out something!

Chris, your site at Cubits... I LOVE everything there!

My daughter was able to grow semps in New Mexico by growing them in filtered shade and watering them very early in the morning, before daylight.
@webesemps also grew them in a dry climate. Maybe she can give you some ideas on how to do it.

I wouldn't exactly call this a dry climate. We aren't in the desert. Almost all of the land around us is wheat and alfalfa fields, without irrigation. So, things grow very well here without being watered. I know that garden plants are different, but you can't grow wheat or alfalfa without moisture, and both of those crops are grown everywhere here.

Thanks Natalie! Everyone that grows semps seems to have a little bit different challenge with them. But once you figure out what they like, there's no looking back!