Hello! I'm fond of sempervivum, but haven't been very successful growing them. (Not an experienced gardener at all!) I'm a renter, so have been keeping them in pots. Originally I was keeping them on my apartment's small covered balcony which was fully shaded much of the time - they stayed green and healthy-looking, but very few produced chicks, and then just one or two. I chalked this up to the lack of sun, so when I moved to my current home where they can be out in the open, I thought they'd do great.

It hasn't turned out that way, though! I moved at the end of August - since then I haven't noticed any signs of growth, and winter seems to have hit them hard. There's still some green left in most of them, but they look really bedraggled with lots of dead leaves. Since the main change is how much more exposed they are, I'm wondering if maybe the potting mix I'm using is holding water too long, or maybe the frequent Oregon winter rain was just too much and I needed to move them under the eaves. They're in "cactus and succulent" potting mix with a handful of perlite (and at this point, lots of pine needles). The pots all have drainage.

Hoping for some advice from you semp masters! Thanks!

Hi Kakapo, so nice to meet you.

I have never had good results from using cactus potting mix.
Can you tell me what sempervivum you are growing? Some are tougher in our typical Oregon winter/spring rain and fluctuating temperatures. Many of us here in the PNW grow semps with great success. In fact one of long time hybridizers of semps here in the US lives in Salem, OR. I live in Oregon City, not far from you.
Even in containers, if you have your potting mix correct, you should be able to grow them well.
Can you show us a photo or two so we can see what yours are doing?

Hi, Lynn,

Thanks so much for replying, and nice to meet you too.

I'm a bit embarrassed to show them, but here's a couple of the pots. I'm not sure what kind they are - the ones in the top pic my sister dug up for me from her garden (she's near Seattle). The ones in the second pic came from Fred Meyer and didn't have a specific label. The ones in the top pic seem to have done the best (the large one is the only one that's gotten big and survived, though, and it's really pockmarked - is that from slugs? Squirrels?)

On inspecting them closely I did find a little moss growing in the pots. I've read that can also be a sign the soil is draining too slowly?

The first photo shows damage from hail. Good news is that those are the old leaves, new ones grow from the center of the rosette. Soon it will have lovely new leaves.

The second container really does look waterlogged. If it were mine, I would take all the living rosettes from the container and replace all of the soil. You can use Fox Farm Ocean Forest for your planting mix. I would add some coarse sand or pumice to it. Always top dress with either #2 chicken grit or 1/4" minus that has been washed.
It is rare that we need to water our semps here in the Portland area. I water in our drought months sparingly.
I hope this was helpful.

Hail damage! I didn't even think of that.

Thanks for your advice - I'll seek out some Fox Farm Ocean Forest and replace the old soil. Hopefully the survivors will perk up in the new medium and grow some new leaves. I did buy a little #2 chicken grit since so many people on here seem to swear by it.

If you have a landscaping supply business near you would be much cheaper to buy the 1/4" minus cleaned. I actually like it better than the chicken grit.
Would love to see new photos once you redo them and they take off growing.

Welcome to the Semp forum, Kakapo! Thanks for sharing your container semps with us. I do potted planting of semps now after moving to a place w/no ground to plant into.