Will removing a clump from a stressed semp stress it further.

Do you just reach in and twist it's head off?

Owch !!! That hurts to think about

I want to try to save something from a badly stressed plant. I think I watered it when it was 98++
It is Sempevivum Othello and was healthy up until a few days ago, before intense heat and I moved it into the sun.

MY BAD!!!

Marilyn, I'd remove as much soil from the roots as possible, then gently pull the plants apart. I'd also try to remove some of the dead leaves off the base of the plants. Leave them dry in the shade for several days before replanting.

I agree with Chris. They don't look too bad and should recover nicely. Looks to me like drying out too much rather than the watering. I've watered my semps almost every day this week. 90+ temps in June is very unusual here.

I cut them off, making sure anything that looks rotten is removed. Less bruising of the plant that way.

Marylin has it exactly right. Wet semps in our direct sun will rot at the roots and base. Then, without the ability to get water to the tops, they just shrivel up in our very low humidity. Now, they need to callous over at the base and then grow new roots.

Once replanted, do NOT put them in direct sun for quite a while yet. At least not for several weeks, maybe longer, until they are well rooted again. Otherwise they will just shrivel. Maybe no mid day sun for the rest of the year. I try and keep all my potted semps out of the mid day sun and new ones out of all but early morning and late afternoon sun. Ever feel the dirt in those pots that are in full sun at noon? It's not just warm, it's hot! Put the same pot in the shade and it feels cool.

I just bought a semp at a nursery that was headed this way. The top still looked great, but I could lift the entire clump off the pot because all the roots and base had rotted. Given time, the top would start to shrivel but it hadn't got there yet. Too many nursery staff overhead water the semps in the middle of the day, so this is very common. I'll just reroot it.

Definitely keep it out of the sun. It is way too hot for any new plantings in Colorado. My established xeric garden is stressed from the intense sun and high temperatures.
My trades and new plantings will be kept out of the direct sun until possibly next spring. A few will be planted in the ground in fall when the soil is cool which works here in Colorado.
Tabby is right about the watering. My plants get watered in the late evening (after 8) or very early morning (around 5). Mostly the evening because that is when I have the most time. Never when the sun is intense which can cause some sunburn and rot.

Great advice from all of you Colorado growers. Chris & Twit both have high temps to deal with, plus high humidity, a double whammy.

You are really learning fast Sis. I agree that your semps should be just fine, with a little TLC.

I have found the optimal time of the year to plant new semps here is October through February. Spring here is just too hot and the sun too intense for them to adjust well. Spring planting here is like planting in the middle of July in most places.

That is a good thing to know for all the semp growers in the South.

No, it's not just the same as having high temperature missing the humidity. We have our own set of problems that folks at sea level don't have and they can be big problems for those who are new to this area and haven't learned about them yet.

Marilyn has the added issue of being a mile high. The temperature is a pretty big problem, but the sun is an even bigger problem. It burns people and plants faster here, as newcomers soon find out. Much faster. If you were to bring a plant from sea level and plant it straight into the ground here it would fry. Not from the heat, but from the light. Sandi and I don't keep damaged or new semps out of the heat so much as keep them out of the sun. (Although potted plants can also roast from the sun heating up the pot something fierce).

It could be 40 F and plants from sea level will still burn.

Thank you all so much. I had them in partial shade/sun and moved them because I thought they would do better in a sunnier site.

And boom, they did not like it at all.

I have now put them in shadier spots and will leave them. It is extremely hard, for me, to be patient, but I am learning.

Thanks to this great forum I know I have access to help. I will keep you posted on progress.

Great explaination Tabby. This will really help Sis grow in knowledge, on how to care for her new plants.

The ones I brought home in May from Denver settled in immediately. Seemed there was no adjustment period for them. We are at 300 ft. and very mild climate.

Yes, Thanks to all the Denver participants. I appreciate and value their sharing their knowledge with me. I am learning so much from them. :tiphat:

I am also learning a lot from older postings which I have been reading. I often then have to some research. I remember one mention of stratify or stratifying. I had never heard the word in relation to plants, so off I went to find out what you guys were talking about. So you are teaching me directly and indirectly and I just love it

Need I also mention, how much I appreciate all of Lynn's advise and encouragement. My SIL puts up with all the side emails, treemails questions and provides answers and directions. Of course I envy her the great growing conditions, although not all the rain in the winter.

Lynn has been a source of valuable information for all of us!!

Much of what I know has come from all of you. And twit has been the rock we all stand on.
Hope it doesn't hurt you twit, with all of us standing on you.

I find it fascinating to watch how all of us have come together, learning new things every day.
Never stop searching for knowledge and sharing it.

Oh, my aching back! It doesn't help to have Lynn make my head bigger. Hard to keep balanced...



I am just learning myself and this site provides a wonderful learning forum and even nicer people.

And your wonderful sense of humor keeps me laughing twit.

If yours getting any bigger you can just roll it to save your back.