Hens and Chicks Plant Care

Lengthy earlier than Millennial gardeners made flowering succulents so massively in style, hens and chicks had been a favourite backyard plant. Your grandma could have grown them in her backyard. They have been so long-loved as a result of they’ve dependable and simple to develop.

These succulents are hardy, with a good-looking texture and understated magnificence. And as soon as established, hens and chicks barely want any care. In reality, these are a few of best perennials to develop in your backyard, even should you’re completely new to gardening.

Why Belief Us?

I am a backyard author with greater than 15 years of expertise rising houseplants, edibles, and panorama plantings. Hens and chicks are of the primary pass-along vegetation I ever grew as a child, shared from my Grandma’s backyard.

I additionally frequently trial new plant cultivars for efficiency and reliability, and check backyard merchandise to judge practicality and sturdiness.

What are Hens and Chicks?

Hens and chicks (Sempervivum spp) are vegetation which can be native to the mountains of southern Europe. There are tons of of species, however all of them type a decent rosette near the bottom, by no means topping out at greater than about 6 inches tall. Their thick leaves could also be barely tinged with pink or pink.

Relying on the variability, hens and chicks develop nearly in every single place in USDA Hardiness Zones 3 to 9 — protecting many of the continental U.S. (Find your zone here.)

Enjoyable truth: Their botanical title comes from the Latin for “to stay eternally,” which is just about true or this plant. Its long-lived nature is because of the quite a few offsets, known as “chicks,” that are produced from the mom plant. These child vegetation type new colonies that unfold quickly.

Learn extra: How to Tell A Thanksgiving and Christmas Cactus Apart

Right here’s what else it’s essential to learn about how one can develop hens and chicks:

Hens and Chicks Fundamental Information:

• Widespread Title: Hens and Chicks
• Botanical Title: Sempervivum spp
• Plant Household: Crassulaceae
• Kind of Plant: Perennial
• Native Origin: Southern Europe
• Solar Publicity: Full solar
• Most popular Soil Kind/pH Vary: Nicely draining/ Barely acidic to impartial (6 to eight)
• Mature Measurement: 6 inches tall by 6 inches broad
• Hardiness Zones: 3 to 9
• Poisonous to pets: No

Why Is the Plant Known as Hens and Chicks?

The cute title comes from the truth that the mom plant (the “hen,”) rapidly produces child offsets, known as “chicks.” These vegetation are monocarpic, which means as soon as the mom plant blooms, it dies back and may be faraway from the backyard. The chicks will develop, then type their very own chicks. That is the way it can rapidly unfold.

How Do You Look after Hens and Chicks Plant?

Plant hens and chicks in full solar (no less than 6 or extra hours of direct daylight per day). Hens and chicks like well-draining soils and don’t thoughts sandy, gritty, or poor soils. The plant is drought-tolerant as soon as established.

This plant appears stunning in rock gardens, alongside borders, or tucked into rock crevices. It additionally does effectively in shallow containers. In reality, a container (with a drainage gap) is good for these vegetation you probably have heavy clay soil or stay in a wet local weather.

That’s as a result of, like all succulents, hens and chicks don’t like to remain moist. Soggy soil causes them to rot and switch to mush, so allow them to dry out in between waterings if in a container.

Do Hens and Chicks Flower?

When the mom plant is a number of years outdated, it is going to push out a tall, thick stalk about 8 inches tall with a star-shaped flower on the top. The flower will final a number of weeks, then the mom plant will die again. The child vegetation, or chicks, will proceed to develop.

How Do You Propagate Hens and Chicks?

Wish to share hens and chicks with buddies and neighbors? You possibly can depart the infants in place to develop, or to make a brand new plant, merely twist off the child from the principle plant.

Place the chick in a container or in-ground, and mist with water day by day for about 1 to three weeks (or much less often if it has been raining or the soil stays moist) till the plant is established.

What’s the Distinction Between Sempervivum and Echeveria?

Each of those vegetation go by the frequent title of “hens and chicks,” so that they’re usually confused. It’s straightforward to see why; echeveria appears similar to sempervivum with a decent rosette form. Nonetheless sempervivum has slender, pointy leaves, whereas echeveria has spoon-like leaves.

However crucial distinction? Echeveria is simply hardy to USDA zones 9 to 11 (protecting central and south Florida, and components of south Texas), so it’s normally grown as a houseplant.

In case you attempt to develop echeveria open air in chilly climates, it gained’t survive the winter. Then again, sempervivum is cold-hardy to USDA zones 3 to 9.

Are Hens and Chicks Crops Poisonous to Pets?

In response to ASPCA, these vegetation aren’t poisonous to pets. However do not forget that any plant may cause GI upset if eaten in massive sufficient portions, so hold your pet away from these vegetation if you might have a nibbler.