Hi there,

I'm wanting to grow different varieties of 'hens and chicks' around my home. Are there any varieties that will multiply much quicker than others? I haven't had a whole lot of luck finding a variety of them at Lowe's but I've looked at quite a few different ones online but would like a little feedback from others before I purchase anything. I live in Oklahoma and I know I won't have major issues with temps (shouldn't anyway's, lol!). Anything anyone can tell me from their experience would be greatly appreciated....

Thanks.....

Hi Chad,
You might read this thread as to so to avoid. The thread "Sempervivum with winter damage" in Sempervivum forum
Another fun thread you might like to read. The thread "High Production Semps" in Sempervivum forum

Welcome to the site!
@valleylynn

The 'winter damage' thread made me sad, lol! j/k It's definitely an interested read as I get started on building my collection. Thanks for your help and suggested reading.

Chad

Chad - great to see new folks on here! I joined several years ago and these plants have changed my life, seriously - I just became so interested in them that it occupies a lot of my time!! Through this site though, I've met other semp people, and that has been really cool!
I'm thinking for where you live - you'll want a bit more shade then what many people grow in, Morning sun with afternoon shade or something.

Great advice Greg. Oklahoma sun can be quite intense.

What conditions do you grow your green tectorum in Chad? The photo I saw of them looked nice and healthy.

Greg: Thanks so much for your advice. I think that's the problem I was having with them now since I had them in direct sunlight throughout the day. Then again I thought they might be struggling a bit to transition to their new home. I'm hopeful they will bounce back.

Lynn: That was just a stock photo I found through Yahoo! Images since I didn't want to walk out into the yard to take a picture, lol. I had them in my backyard in a raised bed but I think they were overwhelmed with all of the sun and direct heat that we are starting to get as we leave spring and head into summer. I took some of them and put them in a couple of containers and have them on the edge of my porch where they will get daily sunlight but it will be only be for part of the day. I'm playing around with them until I find what works. I just hope I don't kill them all in the process.

I guess it would make sense to read the articles kindly provided by the people here before asking questions. Will do so now.

My bed is under a spreading crabapple tree. They get some direct sun in morning then dappled in the afternoon. Dratted cats keep walking across them as I find some little ones upside down and I certainly didn't plant them that way. And they are my neighbor's cats, not mine.

We did our first clean up at the botanical gardens rock gardens. Things looking really nice. Lots of blooming rock garden plants. We had a lot of winter kill from all the new plants that went in hastily last fall. We knew some were borderline but wanted to get the new troughs planted ASAP. We have new troughs to go in in a few weeks and those plants will have all summer to settle in and we can afford to be more careful in our choices. Like I have anything to do with choices. I too am a newbie so I just 'do as I am told'. I can safely pull weeds, brush off dead leaves with the best of them. When the new troughs go in and things are really growing well I will take more pics. I realize that these are not all Sempervivum and probably no Jovibarba (I don't think they thrive here) but there are lots of hens and chicks.

Yes Chad, let the semps tell you where they are happiest. If you place them in different situations you will be able to observe which one do the best. Go with what they show you.
From there you are home free and have figured it out.
Don't water in the heat of the day, that will steam cook them. Do you get summer rains? If so you may not have to water at all once they get their roots established.

Mary that sound like a perfect spot for them. You might try bird netting over them until the roots take hold. Birds and rodents can be part of the problem, even earth worms can push the newly planted semps up. I've actually observed them do this.

Lynn: We get summer rains (not very often) but I feel like we get more heat and drought than anything, lol. I don't honestly think we will get a lot of rain but with Oklahoma weather you never know. It's pretty unpredictable, haha!