While attempting coir removal from MCG plants, it was near impossible not to damage (break) the stolons holding premature chicks. I figured I might as well see if they'll root even though underdeveloped.

LEFT: Pacific Blue Ice, with plump little chicks forming on hot pink stolons. If they were picked at this state, would they have less of a chance to root? I'm going to leave them attached, but curious about this point.
RIGHT: top left is 'Bagdad', top right 'Kramer's Spinrad', lower right calcareum 'Fire Dragon', and the pots with premature chicks from each, knocked off while removing coir.

You can give it a try Mark and see how it does. The stolon might supply some food for the immature offset until it can develop roots.

Mark, I've had the best success with this by nearly covering the offset with grit, and keeping it shaded. Especially now that temps are going up so quickly

gg5 said:Mark, I've had the best success with this by nearly covering the offset with grit, and keeping it shaded. Especially now that temps are going up so quickly

Thanks Greg, I will move the 3 pots of immature chicks to an open shaded location. Will report back later how it goes.

I'm doing more experimentation harvesting young chicks, now that hens are really pushing out the chicks. Detaching them while young and potting them up, will hopefully give me a headstart increasing the new mail-order plants, to plant out a larger colony. I'm learning a few things as I do this.

Two views of young chicks of 'Seminole', was surprised to see that many already had young roots searching for ground, tapping into the grit mulch.


LEFT: chicks on 'Gingerbread Boy'
RIGHT: happy to find 5 chicks on 'Positively Glowing.
Notice in these photos where the roots start, interesting that roots do come from the scale-like cauline leaves on the stolon. I've been trimming back excess stolon length, don't think the full length is needed.


I'm thinking the best way to plant the chick/stolons is more or less horizontally (actually, slighty sloped uphill, put a bit of soil over the stolons then add the grit mulch layer. I use straight twigs or popsicle sticks as dividers between cultivars
LEFT: chick pot-up in progress
RIGHT: chick flat #1 is done, clockwise from lower left: 11 Killer, 5 Positively Glowing (I misplaced one chick, but found it and added it in after taking the photo), 7 Thunder, 8 Seminole ,


LEFT: chick flat #2, clockwise from lower left: 7 Pacific Blue Ice, 10 Dreamcatcher, 6 Bitter Chocolate,
6 Gingerbread Boy, 2 Rocknoll Rosette
RIGHT: closer view of 3 chick cultivars


Some semp cultivars like 'Aross' chick so prolifically, there's no need to separately harvest them.
LEFT: 'Aross', so fuzzy and little tufts at leaf tips, a small explosion of growth and color.
RIGHT: 'Aross' on right-hand side, pink-hued 'Irazou' to the left of Aross.


Going to do several more of these chick flats

Looks great Mark! Irazu is also a good grower!

Great way to increase production Mark. The original rosette might even produce another crop since the early ones are taken off.

Following up on my first message from exactly 1 month ago, tiny premature chicks salvaged on "Bagdad', calcareum 'Fire Dragon', and 'Kramer's Spinrad', all have done well, plumped up and increased in size, giving a gentle tug they are firmly rooted on their own.


While I was puttering about, I plucked 4 chicks on mature 'Butterbur' rosettes, just in case they decide to flower, and potted them up...they had the usual white adventive hair roots looking to touch ground.
LEFT: 'Butterbur" chicks, many much smaller chicks are forming too.
RIGHT: 'Butterbur" chicks potted up. Supposed to rain next two days, will be good for the chicks.

Love seeing how the experiment is working out Mark.

Getting interesting results with the early harvesting of chicks. When I potted up my Pans order exactly 1 month ago, I potted 'Edge of Night' and left five chicks on it, and potted 10 chicks (about same size) into a separate pot. Today, June 5, 2018, I plucked off those five chicks that I left on the plant a month ago and potted them up, these chicks were hanging out in the air putting out aerial roots unable to grab hold of soil.

LEFT: original 5 chicks on 'Edge of Night', left attached for one month, then potted up today
RIGHT: 10 chicks potted up 1 month ago, fully rooted and developing strong growing rosettes.


Results: chicks remaining on the plants (pot on left) are far behind and still need to root in; they're much smaller compared to the early harvested chicks in the pot on the right.

My overall impression, chicks harvested very early (at immature size) are ready and willing to take root and grow on, a good acceleration technique. One can cut the chick's "apron strings" (stolons) early on, forcing independent root development and earlier rosette development, rather than spend time hanging out "in the air" in a slow motion stasis, attempting to reach ground with aerial roots.

Good test for what many of us already assumed, or having also tried. Now it will be interesting to see how young can an offset be viable off parent plant I've done this on some very small offsets and if you take care, they will do fine

Good info, I always thought if too small they would die if cut from the mother plant

springcolor said:Good info, I always thought if too small they would die if cut from the mother plant

I will try some of the smallest/youngest chicks I can find, and see how they do, will report back.

Julia I've had some offsets fall off while transporting and transplanting - and have planted them, however I usually plant them deep into the top dressing so they are shaded!
Yes Mark do please keep us updated!

I recently planted some very tiny (pale and very immature) offsets that fell off of the rosettes when packaging them for shipment. Way to tiny to put into the bag. So far so good. They are alive and some even look like they are growing.

This one (ABBA) has a lot of little babes. Should I remove them and pot them up?

If you are working at having a nice colony I would just leave them. But, you can take a few off and test the theory.

I agree with Lynn. My experiment was simply to test a theory, and when re-establishing a personal collection of semps I was looking to accelerate the numbers of each variety from the few that are sent via mail-order. I'm also interested in chicks as insurance against losses from hens flowering and dying.

Some plants are so free with chicks, there really isn't much need to pull off chicks early, only perhaps to pot up some to give away to friends, or have available to trade. By the way Karen, 'Abba' looks very nice, somehow it's missing from my want list, so I added it

Sorry about the horrible top dressing on that one. It was in an earth box, and I used a white rock to top dress. Then when it was watered, it all turned icky brown. I now have some chicken grit to use but haven't done it yet.

Today was the first day I could go out in the garden after my recent surgery, but only light work allowed (puttering), so I potted up a bunch of semp chicks. Here are some that I worked on.

One concern is getting chicks on large mature hens for which I do not yet have any chicks. Pleased to spot one chick on a large single mature hen of 'Fame':
LEFT: top view of 'Fame', chick peaking out by label.
RIGHT: pulling off dried basal leaves, 3 more unseen chicks were found.


LEFT: happy to pot up 4 'Fame' immature chicks
RIGHT: chicks potted up, compared to size of hen


LEFT: 'Neptune' is another large mature hen I received without chicks, top view. The rosette looked like it might want to flower.
RIGHT: relieved to discover today the formation of chicks tight inside the mother rosette


LEFT & RIGHT: close-in views of chicks developing tight amongst the leaves, one actually has a very short length of stolon sufficient to detach the chick at this point.


One of the last semp orders I received this spring was from the Semp Patch (aka Goldfinch4), and already chicks are forming. I'm so taken with green 'Grand Mere', looking like a green rose, I was pleased to find 7 chicks just poking out from the two hens, the chicks as plump and cute as the mama. US dime added for scale.

LEFT: chicks of 'Grand Mere'
RIGHT: view with chicks and two Hens, love the rose shape rosettes with deep eye.


'Grand Mere' chicks potted up: