Hens and Chicks
Sempervivum
Hens and Chicks is grown for its foliage rather than flowers, giving the garden structure and color all season long.
This entry comes from our curated library and has not yet been independently checked against outside sources. Curated is not unreliable: a standing audit keeps every entry internally consistent, and the source-by-source check is working through the whole library in the open.
Growing Hens and Chicks
Plant it in full sun. It prefers low water. It is hardy in USDA zones 3–8. Expect it to reach about 4 in tall and 8 in wide at maturity, in roughly 3 years.
When to plant Hens and Chicks
Plant Hens and Chicks in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. For the middle of its hardy zones 3 to 8 range, spring means April to June and fall means August or September.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar: for the middle of its range, start with zone 5 in April.
Good to know about Hens and Chicks
Curated from university extensions, botanic gardens and other primary sources, with the source named on every note.
Safety
Non-toxic to pets per ASPCA, but the cell sap can mildly irritate sensitive skin (contact dermatitis) when you handle it. Wash your hands afterward. per ASPCA and NC State
Worth knowing
Each 'hen' rosette flowers just once, then dies. Do not panic: the ring of offset 'chicks' it made lives on, so the colony keeps going. per NC State
Zone range varies by source
Sources list 3 to 8, 4a to 8b, or 3 to 7. The real warm-end limit is heat and humidity above zone 8, not cold. Hardy to zone 3. per NC State and Chicago Botanic Garden
Rots in wet soil
Overwatering or poor drainage causes crown, root, leaf and stem rot, the main way gardeners kill it. Lean, gritty, sharply drained soil and sparing water are protective. per NC State and Missouri Botanical Garden
Cold hardy, unusual for succulents
Unusually cold hardy for a succulent: it holds its evergreen rosettes through winter and needs no protection to about zone 3, unlike tender succulents that frost kills. per NC State and Clemson
Deer and rabbit resistant
Two independent extension lists rate it browsed rarely: Wisconsin 'not favored', Iowa State 'seldom damaged'. Deer resistant, not deer-proof, and browsing pressure varies by region. per Wisconsin and Iowa State
Best uses
A classic pick for rock gardens, crevices, stone and dry walls, troughs, containers and green roofs. Its name tectorum means 'of roofs', its lean, sun-baked niche. per NC State
What pairs well with Hens and Chicks
Good companions share its growing conditions and add something it lacks: an earlier or later bloom, a lower carpet in front, or structure through winter.
Cleome
Shares full sun and low to moderate water; stands well above at 3.9 ft, a canopy to plant beneath.
Asiatic Lily
Shares full sun and low to moderate water; stands well above at 3.3 ft, a canopy to plant beneath.
Spirea
Shares full sun and low to moderate water; stands well above at 3.3 ft, a canopy to plant beneath.
Love-Lies-Bleeding
Shares full sun and low to moderate water; stands well above at 3.3 ft, a canopy to plant beneath.
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