Hi
i just recieved a bunch of hen and chic no name varietys. i know they are the floret kind with a tip of read with green
but i divided them up and well the leaves are turning brown ? and maybe rotting out ? smooshy like
the woman who gave them to me , i used the same soil as hers that came with the plants
i didn't water them
could they be getting to much sun ?
this is when they were looking so great ! but then 7 day later ... ??? they turned brown
i feel so bad. when i got them they are so beautiful

Sue, Dr. Houseleeks should be with you in the next 24 hrs. Looks like the patient will be okay until then.
Please let him know where you live, as in weather conditions.
What kind of soil.
Are the brown leaves dry and crispy.
Are they on the bottom side of the rosettte?

I see black plastic in one of your containers. That could be a problem as it will not let your soil drain fast enough.

thanks
sue

Sue, Good drainage is important.

Can you post a pic of what they look like now? The scientific term "smooshy" suggests perhaps some rotting going on, but dry, crispy leaves (thanks Lynn!) leaves indicates the opposite problem from rot, so I really do need a pic or tow.

1) if they are in plastic, remove immediately.

2) expose plants to dry shade. Dig them up if they are smooshy and expose roots to the air. Put on an old towel, off of the ground, in a shady spot that gets good air flow but no hot sun. They will do fine for weeks without dirt on the roots, as long as they are kept cool and dry. If rot has set in, you may lose some. See my thread on dealing with rot.

Waiting to see some pics. BTW, those look like a nice tectorum.

oh gosh they are in plastic flats ! ack. ! yes they are dry crispy
i will put in shade and i can't get pics due to my media card died on me :(
ok i will do that .
i will put them back in the GH on the tables
thanks
sue
i will try and get pics

Ok Sue, take a deep breath and calm down!

Plastic flats are OK, as long as the flats have plenty of drainage holes. Semps can fry in bright hot sun. Hard to say what might be going on. Where is Hillbilly Heaven? (need to know your climate and recent weather)

Shade during the hottest part of the day, good drainage (don't put them in plastic bags). If they are going crispy on you and do have good drainage, then mist them (evening just before dark) with a water bottle sprayer is the best advice I can give until I can see them. Don't let them sit in water when you mist them. Get them out of full sun until you know what is going on.

ok i am calm LOL a good glass of wine last night helped
well i had them in flats on some tables off the ground
got morning sun with afternoon shade . around 4 hrs of sun at most ?
i put them in with t he regular soil that they came with which was sandy black stuff ? but lots of ants so i used bark mulch to help line the flats
maybe that was to rich for them the composted bark mulch ? i got lost if crappy rocky clay soil if that would help ?
Urbana , ohio
zone 5 b
pretty hot mid 90's and humid the last 5 days . but no rain
last night was rain but they are in the GH at present time
sure wish my camera was working to give you pics it just won't download and the media card i use is on the blink
but i will get a new one on monday
or i may try my iphoto booth and see if that would work ?
they just seem to be shriveling up they are half the size they were
thanks for all your help
sue

ok lets give it a try and i hope the pics is ok

the outer leaves are mostly dry and crispy , to hot sun ?
and the bottome leaves are mushy . to much moisture ?
the ones i dumped on the back table in my GH look great !!

The pic shows rot. The leaves turn soft, then eventually dry out.

The solution to saving your plants is to immediately dry them. Dig them out of the soil, then gently remove as much soil as possible so that you are exposing the roots to the air. It would not hurt them to dunk in some cool water a few times to remove as much dirt as possible, but if you do this, the plants need to drain on dry towels so that the extra water is gone within about an hour.

Once the plant has dried for a few hours, carefully pull off all of the leaves that show signs of rot. Hopefully, the central stem of the rosette will not show any sign of rot. At which point, let the rosette dry for a few days out of the hot sun(breezy shade is ideal), a week is certainly OK. Then plant in dry medium with good drainage and do NOT water for several weeks - misting lightly is OK once a day or every couple of days. Watch closely. You want to be able to distinguish between rot and the plant shriveling for lack of water. Semps can survive for months without being watered, as long as it is not too hot. Paradoxically, during hot periods, they are sensitive to too much water, especially if there is any physical damage to the plant.

Good luck and let us know how they do for you.

IF the stem shows sign of rot and you need to keep the plant, you will need to do surgery. Generally speaking, rot on the stem will spread and kill the plant. Cut out any sign of rot on the stem, once you have removed all rotting leaves. Dusting the stem lightly with powdered sulfur will help prevent any infections of the wound, but should not matter too much if you dry the cuts before planting.

Action is needed promptly to stop rot. Mostly likely the plants sustained some sort of damage during the handling or moving, then were exposed to too much water/moisture. The heat does not help. Your zone and growing conditions are generally Ok for Semps.

i think when i put them in the new flats, i didn't let them callous over and that is how they got rot ?
thanks so much
sue

You are welcome. They are sturdy plants and should survive once the rot is under control.

twitcher thanks again for all your help. i think i have the rot under control .
smiles always
sue

they are still some in ball form ? is this normal or did i kill them ?

When they curl up, that usually means that they are too dry, which is what you want. If they are planted in the ground or a pot, they should open up shortly or start to grow new leaves.

Some types will curl up as winter and cold weather approaches, but that is not likely in July.

I'm glad you beat the rot.

Take care.

thanks
smiles
sue

Hello, my name is Victoria and I received a Hens and Chicks plant around 3 months ago (his name is Bruce). Anyway, I placed him in an old, cute candle pot, so there are no draining holes. However, I put some rocks at the bottom, to help the roots not drown. Bruce was doing well, until about 2-3 weeks ago. His underneath layer is becoming brown and yellow, with a mushy texture. He became limp, and is no longer standing up on his own. I read the above comments and took him out of the soil, hoping this would help. But, I'm scared this isn't the same case with my Hens and Chicks. Please let me know if there is a way for me to save him. I have some photos attached.

Hi Victoria, and welcome to NGA. Glad you found your way here.

Yes, I can see by your photos that Bruce is dying from rot due to soggy roots.
Bruce also looks like you have been keeping him indoors?
Sempervivum are not an indoor type of plant, they do best growing in fast draining soil outdoors.
Good news is that it looks like there are new roots along the stem?
Leave the plant laying on the paper towel for a day or two, to dry out. Once it has dried a bit check for mushy tissue. Cut all of the mushy part off. Then plant the remainder with the tiny new roots into a dry potting mix. Be sure your container has drainage holes.

What is your weather like now? If it is spring like you can place the potted plant outdoors in a protected spot with bright light, but not direct sunlight. Do not water it for a few days, then lightly water it, just a sip or two. Soon it should take off growing.

When you say plant the remainder, the only alive part looks like the top of him. Would the plant survive if I planted just that part?

The weather here is spring-like, I could set him outside.

See the new white roots growing about half way up the stem? Those will help the plant to generate new growth.


Follow the stem up to healthy tissue, no soggy rotting tissue. Cut just above the bad tissue, you should have nice healthy roots to get things started. Plant in dry potting mix. Leave try for a couple of days, then start watering very lightly, only water again when the soil is dry.