Connie, come here, they are waiting for you.

Lynn, is this a new variety that you've "released"? Exciting!


I'll get photos of some semps soon. Everything's slowing down outdoors. It's very cold... not very wet though.

Hi Alex,
That is not a new one. It was one released through Perennial Obsession, I believe it was 2019.
Glad you like it. In my raised beds it has proven to be tough through all weather conditions here in the PNW. The colony stays nice and clean. Here it is in January. It has a fare amount of wax.

Nonstop rain here in the PNW. I think I forgot what sun looks like.
The ground is so saturated that water comes up around my shoes when I walk out in the yard. The raised beds are now 3 years old, original soil was forest compost with lots of sharp sand in the mix. So far, I am finding that this was a great mix for Oregon City, which is very close to the Columbia River Gorge. It seems that as the soil breaks down the sand become more prevalent. So far this has been a very good thing for my sempervivum, also the many other perennial alpine type plants growing in the same beds.

It looks great!

You are getting our rain. My tall semps sending roots down thru dead leaves should be ready for cleanup when? Its very dry and i need to water but need to do things in order thats right for them

They look great, Lynn!

Alice, what do you mean by "tall semps"? And what dead leaves? You mean the bottom leaves of the rosettes? Or dead leaves from trees, etc.?
I keep all debri cleaned out of the beds. I do NOT groom the colonies removing dead leaves. I have culled my collection to semps that do not show lots of dead leaves throughout the year. I select for plants that keep a clean appearance. These are the semps that I use in crosses.

Can you show us a photo of what you are talking about?

I'm leaving my dead leaves for the spring. I don't know if it's a good idea, but I think it's too cold to get ou tweezers and remove them, anyways.

This is "Bev's Gift #8", I think. It's one of the sempervivum I got from Bev...
Happy to see the Sedum sexangulares aurea coloring up, it complements the semp well, I think.

Nice photo Alex. I like seeing other plants growing with semps. I wouldn't worry about those dead leaves, they look crispy not mushy.

valleylynn said: Alice, what do you mean by "tall semps"? And what dead leaves? You mean the bottom leaves of the rosettes? Or dead leaves from trees, etc.?
I keep all debri cleaned out of the beds. I do NOT groom the colonies removing dead leaves. I have culled my collection to semps that do not show lots of dead leaves throughout the year. I select for plants that keep a clean appearance. These are the semps that I use in crosses.

Can you show us a photo of what you are talking about?

Mine had to hide in shade during heat. May have caused

Thank you for the photos, Alice I now understand what you were saying.
I would put them where they will get full sun, if they are dry give them water and I would disturb them during this dormant time. What are your low temps like now?

You would or would not disturb?
Low temps have been in the 40s, upper 30s with wind chill below freezing soon. I think i have to get them down to ground level to protect from wind. Based on losing several to a blue norther a couple of years ago.

valleylynn said: Thank you for the photos, Alice I now understand what you were saying.
I would put them where they will get full sun, if they are dry give them water and I would disturb them during this dormant time. What are your low temps like now?

I wouldn't disturb them right now. You can use chicken grit or clean 1/4 minus gravel to protect the under side. Dry cold windy weather will dehydrate them to death. They will need water, but just water the soil, not the leaves.

I wonder if my semps will like western Kentucky better? We had someone on this chat from Kentucky at one time?

I think you will have less problems growing them in Kentucky, depending on the topography. Are you moving there?
If so what part?

@Gypsi I used to live in southern Indiana and rot was a big problem. I found I had to cover them in the winter due to the freeze and thaw cycles. Summer was pretty hard on them. We regularly were over 95 with super high humidity. I had to cover them in the summer to since we would get so many summer storms.

Aiming for western Kentucky if i can escape Texas. I'm only bringing what i have, they survived Texas and we were at 110 for a month or 2, nighttime over 80

I used aquarium gravel, sandblasting size to protect the tall ones.

















I used a pine needle to flick gravel bits out from between leaves

That is looking much better Alice.
Hoping you can accomplish the great escape. My daughter and family just left Texas and moved to North Carolina. She is loving it.