Hens & Chicks Sempervivum

Gold Nugget Sempervivum

$5.99

Gold Nugget Sempervivum is an original Chick Charms® variety. Wow! This hen and chick variety is stunning. Golden leaves with touches of crimson make Gold Nugget glow. Yellow in incredibly hard to get in sempervivum making this one a must have. It is...

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6 Assorted No ID Sempervivum

$20.94 $18.99

Save more with this random assortment of un-named plants. These are still beautiful, cold hardy sempervivum, just not named hybrids. Each order includes six rosettes plus chicks. All the plants will arrive in one bag containing a random mix of plant...

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Jade Rose Sempervivum

$4.29

Jade Rose has a pretty two toned appearance. Fully crimson in spring, Jade Rose it gradually shows more green on the ends of the leaves as summer approaches. Each leaf tip is adorned with a tuft of white cilia. Foliage Color: Spring - Red with White hair...

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Sobolifera Jovibarba globiferum

$4.29

Jovibarba sobolifera, also known as Jovibarba globiferum, are small, bright green rollers. The chicks are tiny red balls that sit on top of the mother plant. Foliage Color: Spring - Green with Red Tips; Summer - Green Mature Size: 2.5" Diameter Shipping...

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Prairie Sunset Sempervivum

$4.29

Prairie Sunset captures brilliant colors of a stunning sunset. Golden green blends to crimson on this loose rosette .Kevin Vaughn (US), 1976 Also sold as Chick Charms® Plum Parfait™ Foliage Color: Spring - Yellow-Green with Red Tips; Summer - Green with...

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Killer Sempervivum

$4.29

Killer is just that, a killer variety. A fairly recent introduction from Europe, Sempervivum Killer is a breathtaking mixture of black, red, green and gold throughout the year.Volkmar Schara (DE) Germany, 2004 Also sold as Chick Charms® Cranberry...

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Pacific Blue Ice Sempervivum

$4.29

Pacific Blue Ice is a real beauty with icy blue rosettes touched with just a hint of pink. The pink coloring is more pronounced in cooler weather.Gary Gossett (US), 1998 Also sold as Chick Charms® Berry Blues™ Foliage Color: Spring - Blue flushed with...

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Rubrum Sempervivum arachnoideum

$4.29

Rubrum is a mini variety that grows in nice clumps that flush red in spring. A great variety for rock gardens. Foliage Color: Spring - Green flushed Red with heavy Cobweb; Summer - Green with heavy Cobweb Mature Size: 1" Diameter Shipping Size: You'll...

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Hookerii Sempervivum barbulatum

$4.29

Hookerii is a charming mini variety that is exceptional in rock gardens. The tiny rosettes spread quickly to form mounds of pear-shaped rosettes. Each green rosette is nicely cobwebbed with leaf backs that flush red in summer. Native to the Alps and...

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Borisii Sempervivum ciliosum

$4.29

Borisii is like a little hurricane with heavy cilia that swirl around the eye of the rosette. Sempervivum ciliosum var. borisii grows in almost perfectly round white balls giving it a remarkable appearance. Foliage Color: Spring - Green with Purple Tips;...

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Mad Hatter Sempervivum

$4.29

Mad Hatter is an unusual new variety from Vaughn. Although it appears to be just a normal, mid size, green cobweb variety, almost every rosette will eventually crest as it matures. Watch this one as it goes crazy and folds in on itself to create unique...

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Corsair Sempervivum

$4.29

Corsair grows in a small mound of medium sized rosettes. Pointy leaves emerge green, but turn bright ruby red as they age. Nice dark tips in winter.David T. Ford (UK), 1984 Foliage Color: Spring - Bright Red; Summer - Green with Red-Orange Outer Leaves...

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Holly Jolly Sempervivum

$5.99

Holly Jolly is a beautiful mixture of colors. In the cooler temperatures of winter and early spring, it displays strong watermarks over deep purple leaves. With warmer weather Holly Jolly's festive, mixed red and green colors become bright.Kevin C...

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Rocknoll Rosette Sempervivum

$4.29

Rocknoll Rosette is a semp with color that changes dramatically throughout the year, but still looks great all the time. In spring it is a bright, crisp red and by fall it has turned a very distinct red-orange.1995 Also sold as: Chick Charms© Cherry...

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Jabba the Hut Sempervivum

$5.99

Jabba the Hutt is another sensational variety from Vaughn. When semp collectors saw it when the first plants were being evaluated they actually SCREAMED with excitement. Jabba the Hut is one of the lowest and FATTEST semps we've ever seen. Every rosette...

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Sanford Sempervivum

$4.29

Sanford is a large rosette with maroon coloring. In summer the red fades to green, but cold winter temperatures bring back the dark coloring. Great winter color.Sandy Macpherson (US) United States, 1962 Foliage Color: Spring - Dark Maroon; Summer - Green...

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Pluto Sempervivum

$4.29

Pluto is a large, soft, satin green rosette with purple/red tips. It's part of the Planets Series of sempervivum.Ed Skrocki, (US) United States, 1972 or 1975 Foliage Color: Spring - Apple Green with Purple Tips; Summer - Green Mature Size: 5" Diameter...

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Big 6-0 Sempervivum

$5.99

Big 6-0 is the latest Vaughn introduction. This large variety is just the most dazzling bright red semp. It is truly a show stopper. With the best color retention of any sempervivum this will quickly become one of your favorites year round. Big 6-0...

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Reinhardt Sempervivum

$4.29

Reinhardt is a wonderful dark tipped variety. This smaller rosette retains it's nice colors throughout most of the year (dark tips will fade in the hottest part of summer). Flowers bloom yellow pink.Martin Haberer, (DE) Germany, 1979 Foliage Color:...

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Black Sempervivum

$4.29

Black is stunning, blackish-purple variety in the spring. In the warmer weather of late spring the leaves turn green while the tips retain their dark color, as if dipped in ink. Foliage Color: Spring - Black/Purple; Summer - Green/Dark Tips Mature Size:...

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No ID Sempervivum

$3.49

These are plants without a name. They are still beautiful, cold hardy sempervivum, just without names. Each one ordered will include several rosettes (the same as ordering named varieties). Orders for multiple NOID Semps will include a random mix of...

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Watermark King Sempervivum

$5.99

Watermark King is a new Vaughn introduction. This nearly black sempervivum develops strong watermarks in late spring and holds nice color well year round.Kevin C. Vaughn, (US) United States, 2017 Foliage Color: Spring - Black/Purple; Summer - Dark...

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12 Semp & Sedum Collection

$51.48 $43.99

This sempervivum & sedum collection includes 12 colorful succulents: 6 varieties of sempervivum and 6 varieties of sedum. These will all be cold hardy succulents (down to USDA Zone 4 or -30 F), perfect for planting outside in wreaths, living frames,...

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Crested Unusual Form Sempervivum

$5.99

Sometimes sempervivum plants grow in a mutated shape called the crested form. This unusual crested form is where the rosette does not grow from a single, center point. Instead of growing outwards from on spot, the plant grows along a line. This is called...

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Most commonly known as hens and chicks, sempervivum are tough, versatile succulents whose name literally means 'always living'. It's an apt description of these plants that can take cold, drought and sun. With over 3,000 cultivars there's a near endless assortment of color, perfect for rock gardens, planters, ground covers, or anything else you can imagine.

Sempervivum (sem-per-VEE-vum)


These tough succulents are easy to grow, but with enough variation to be engaging for a lifetime. The rosette forms of semps grow into tight clusters that can look like rolling waves of color on the ground. When in containers they cascade over the edges and putting down roots wherever they touch soil.

Sempervivum are cold hardy succulents native to the high mountains of Europe. Their ideal growing conditions are cool, sunny, dry regions with excellent drainage. However, these guys aren't overly fussy and can be grown nearly anywhere with a little consideration. Most varieties can handle winter temperatures that plummet to -20 or -30 degrees (USDA Zone 4). However, if you're growing them in those colder ranges it usually increases survival rates to give them a little extra winter protection (crop cover blankets, move containers closer to house, etc). In warmer climates (USDA Zones 9 and above), they will grow better with shade during the most intense sunlight hours.

Being succulents, sempervivum are also drought tolerant. In the spring when they are growing most they benefit from regular watering, but other than that the water requirements are minimal. Just give them a good, thorough watering whenever the soil has dried out and they'll be happy. Although semps suffer from few diseases, rot can be a problem with over watering or if there isn't adequate drainage.

Sempervivum propagate by producing babies or offsets on stolon. Because of how they propagate themselves the common name of hens and chicks. They are monocarpic plants. This means that after a few years of growing they will flower and then die. It's always a surprise to people in summer when their little round rosettes turn into tall stalks topped with star-shaped flowers. These low maintenance plants continue growing year after year even when completely ignored, making it seem like they really do 'live forever' as their name, sempervivum, suggests.

Jovibarba are often lumped in with sempervivum as hens and chicks. They are extremely similar. The main difference is in how jovibarba produce their offsets. Jovibarba heuffelii grow chicks that are mashed inside the mother plant. Other jovibarba are called 'Rollers' because they grow babies on top of the mother plant that pop off and roll away to grow elsewhere.

For more information, read our article on how to plant and grow sempervivum.