I ordered some Semps from North Hills Nursery. I was surprised they sent cuttings and not plants with good roots on them. Is there a place that sells them already rooted like I picked up at Lowes? I want to get them in the mail with roots already on them that show they are established plants and not cuttings that I have to try and keep alive until they establish. They don't have to be in pots if that saves on shipping, but I'm looking for a source that sends established plants. In my opinion for around 4 dollars a plant, they should at least have good root systems on them.

Can you show us a photo Clint?

This is them potted up. You can't see the part under the soil, but they barely have roots. The plant I bought at Lowes was in a 3 inch pot and the roots filled the entire pot. What I'm trying to find is a source that sends plants like that. I added that 'Jade Rose' to the database yesterday. You can tell it's a plant that's growing and already has chicks on it. What they sent me from North Hills just looks like they pulled chicks from a plant and sent them without rooting them first.

Here's the one from Lowes which was about the same price but cheaper. See how large it is. It has it's own chicks already.

Clint, that sounds odd, I haven't ordered from Northhills, but I have ordered from SMGsucculents and Young's as well as Mountain crest gardens and each time they've sent me plants with roots, even if they're young. I know other folks have given Northhills positive reviews so its confusing. I am sorry though!

They have a few roots, but not like I expected. I thought they were pretty high priced for what they sent me. It's like they don't grow the plants. They just pull them from the main plant and send them then.

Yeah that's odd. From SMG I get at least a parent plant with several smaller plants, which would easily fill a 3" pot and be very similar to what you see in the stores. One thing though is that if you get the more mature plants you do have more of a risk of them blooming, the ones I got last year from HDepot both bloomed (although they also had chicks so they didn't die but are small now)

I think I'll try SMG next. Thanks!

Also the site you linked on another thread simply succulents, pretty sure other's have ordered from there and they say ship in 3" pots. The other place that I'm wondering about is Arrowhead alpines (arrowheadalpines.com) because their plants are more pricey, I'm wondering if they ship more mature plants. (again haven't ordered from them, maybe Chris has?)

Clint your NHN offsets will probably outlast the larger rosettes in the Lowe's pot. Those rosettes are already older than the youngsters from NHN. The young ones just starting to make roots will assure you of having them around longer.
Many of the nurseries have had to increase their prices because of the postage increase. Your new NHN offsets look great and will soon produce a nice, large root system. And probably start producing new offsets this year. Give them a chance.

Thanks! I'll give them time. They still look good today so maybe they are rooting some!

Clint, I didn't realize you were wondering if they'd root...they totally will! I thought you were bugged by them being small completely agree with Lynn though, I received some semps from a friend in early Dec. they were very little, he was going to throw them away, and thought I was crazy because I was keeping them - these tiny seedlings are coming along just fine, and they haven't taken me any extra work! Here is a photo
These were literally the size of a pea, and now they're dime sized, in only 2 months! Yours look way healthier and bigger - I have no concerns that you'll keep them alive!

I hope that you soo have strong, healthy well rooted semps Clint.

Greg, your post inspires me, I rescued some itty bitty babies (look like just a couple of weeks old in some cases) when I was sweeping up after my repotting yesterday, they were so tiny that I didn't see them when pulling the main plants apart, only when sweeping up the last few bits of compost with my pan and brush. I popped them onto the top of the gravel in one of the small pots that I'd planted but didn't hold out much hope that they'd actually be big ebough to survive, but just maybe they will

Clint, I think your plants look nice and healthy and I'm sure they'll be actively growing in no time. I've received semps in the mail with huge root systems like I've never seen on any of my plants, and some with very small roots and after planting you'd never know the difference. You've done a good job potting them up and they're all showing beautiful colors already!

I did place an order with Arrowhead but asked for delivery in April, so I can't offer any information about them from personal experience. But I'll report back when I receive my order.

Such cute babies Greg!

Good luck with your tiny ones Kate.

I got these last year from Arrowhead Nursery.There packing was great and plants healthy. A bit pricey, but healthy plants.

I checked and a lot of these are taking root. The dark purple ones aren't, but I bet they are slower to establish. I like having them in a pot so I can move them to a sunny spot in the day and put them on the patio at night. Lynn - those look awesome!

Yes, I knew they would. NHN grows their plants in conditions that make them tough and ready to grow as soon as conditions trigger growth. I have ordered plants from them for 3 or 4 years now, with no mishaps.

Good to hear that they are settling in Clint

Clint, I'm coming to this thread late, but want to chime in as well. I much prefer to receive young offsets rather than rooted mature plants. While it is fun to see what they look like when grown elsewhere, it is better over the long run to receive young semps and let them establish in your own environment. When I see someone selling mature plants without the young offsets, then I think that the business is likely disreputable. With semps, I have many times received spent, beautiful-looking mature plants that go on to flower and die without producing any more offsets. What I want to purchase is the promise of the future, beautiful plants not a quick, pleasant looking plant that has limited future. Roots, IMHO, are optional for shipping these plants. Keep in mind that rooted plants typically have to regenerate much root mass in order to use them. Also, established roots on semps can be prone to rot when replanted, as you can never get the roots back in the soil the same way as they were when they were dug.

My semps rarely develop the substantial roots as I see on plants from the PNW. NHN and I are in similar environments, so that my have something to do with it. Also, in trading plants, it is an advantage to ship smaller plants. I did a trade a couple of years ago with someone for about 50 new varieties. The largest plant I received was less than 1" in diameter, but nearly every one survived, growing my collection with a lot of new, hard to get varieties. The shipping costs were negligible with the smaller plants and that was important to us.

The plant I got at Lowes is mature and has its own babies already. I meant I would like to receive some like that. I can root the young ones this Spring. I picked the one with the most small plants attached. The plants I received from NHN are cuttings. If they are going to send cuttings, they should say so. I'm not that picky, but there is a huge difference in a cutting and a plant. I am good at rooting cuttings. I would just like to know in advance that I'm paying 4 dollars for a cutting. I can see that in trading plants it would save money to send cuttings, but this business sold me cuttings. I thought a business would send a more substantial plant. I will probably order more in the future though, but from what I've read other companies do send plants with roots already.

I did know you can root these. LOL. I just think they should already be rooted when you pay 4 dollars for them.