Hey there,
I have a quick question about color to clarify and please tell me if I'm wrong, but aren't semps supposed to change color in the fall and winter? (This is my first year so please forgive my ignorance on the subject) I received some yesterday and the were mostly green with some hints of color but not at all what they looked like in the pictures. I was told they would turn in the spring. I understand that climates are all different but the ones I have always received in the past are definitely vibrant and I can point out which one is which. They all look distinctively different but spring definitely threw me off a little. Don't get me wrong, I am not disappointed in any way and I know that these are going to be gorgeous when they mature a little but just simply confused about when things start to change through the seasons.Thanks in advance for any wisdom on this subject.

Great question Jennifer.
Color can be variable depending on the variety of semp and the season. Some have color year round, others just in spring, summer or fall. Also growing conditions can determine the amount of coloring present.
What cultivars are you talking about?
Depending on the ones you recieved they can look vary similar upon arrival, after being in a dark box.

Many of mine are mostly green right now, some are starting to color up for fall/winter coloring.

It is true that semps do go thru color changes as the seasons come and go. To give you a better sense of how much change there is thru the seasons and thru different climates, just browsing thru the Semperivum database and choosing a semp to look at can give you a clue.
For example, Hhere's a link to a semp that you can see color changes thru the year as photographed by valleylynn and in comparison different changes due to zone differences as photographed by others in the USA (just scroll down to the photos on the bottom of that screen of info for the semp Westerlin):

Hen and Chicks (Sempervivum 'Westerlin')

Great example Bev. Westerlin is a great one to use for this purpose.

Oh wow! Thank you for that, it was a wonderful example. The ones I received were
Rocknoll Rosette, Hall's Hybrid, Tristam, Pacific Jordan , and Goedele.

Even green they are very beautiful, and they do share the same characteristics
Of the ones in the picture so I know that they are what this nice lady said
That they were, I was just scratching my head because I thought as summer
Is dying down they would start going crazy with fabulous color. Well I'm patient,
It's something to look forward to in the spring. :)
Thank you so much ladies!

Jennifer I'm late to this conversation but my 2 cents - some things that I've noticed to impact coloration are when my evenings begin to get colder - it takes a couple of weeks of night time low temps before I notice the changes. Then this past winter our temps were unusually cold and almost all my semps went to a very dark maroon, purple (I had no idea I'd had so many of that color, but because we had near freezing and below freezing temps they got to those deep colors) then once it warms up enough for the soil to maintain some warmth, then the colors fade. So for me here in Seattle there is a Sept. color shift that can last up through Dec. and then if it doesn't get too cold the semps keep that coloration until Feb or March where they begin to get all the pinks and brighter colors (oranges and yellows and bright reds) Again these are just some of my own observations!

gg5 said: Then this past winter our temps were unusually cold and almost all my semps went to a very dark maroon, purple (I had no idea I'd had so many of that color, but because we had near freezing and below freezing temps they got to those deep colors) then once it warms up enough for the soil to maintain some warmth, then the colors fade. So for me here in Seattle there is a Sept. color shift that can last up through Dec. ..

Yeah Greg, you gotta show us what Santino is looking like this later this Sept because last year, you had the best pic of Santino in the database:

with Bev. That is why it is the thumbnail for that semp.

Lynn speaking of that, I have to get a different photo of Hall's hybrid for the database, whenever I look at the current one I cringe, it was of the one chick I had when I got the plant ) sad - cute but sad!
Bev thanks for reminding me...I'm a bit bothered because for the past couple of months I noticed that my Santino and Maria Laach are looking identical (I got them from the same place - Youngs) so now I'm keeping an eye on them to see if they change from looking so much alike, but it took the shine outta my Santino! (if ya get what I mean!)
but here is the most current photo from June 18th 2014 still an amazing semp!

It's beautiful Greg.
Do you have a current photo of your Maria Laach?

Lynn I don't but I'll do that and we can compare!

Greg, your semps are absolutely beautiful!!!!!

My Maria Laach is so tiny that it is difficult to tell what it will look like.

Is it a new one for you Lynn?

Yes it is. And it's been struggling. I think I need to move it to a less harsh environment until it gets going.

If I remember right, mine took a bit to get going too. It's worth it though.

I love the photos I've seen of Maria Laach. I look forward to seeing mine come to a mature colony. Thank you for that information Chris.
I do find that some semps are slower to take off into active growth.

I think I've shared this photo before but here is one of my favs 'Grammens' but next to it is 'Maria Laach' in her summer colors - more yellowish - she's always a pretty one (although now her name may be Maria Laach Santino or in other words NOID ) oh and yes the Grammens is amazing! Its my largest semp at almost 8inches across!!

Uh oh. :sad:
It is beautiful Greg, as is Grammens. Did you check surrounding semps for one that looks like Maria Laach?