Growing Pains

By valleylynn
January 1, 2010

A plant clinic for Sempervivum, Jovibarba and J. heuffelii. This is a companion article for the Sempervivum and Jovibarba forum.

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Avatar for jasminealicia
Nov 27, 2014 9:40 PM CST
Thread OP

Okay I got this plant a few months ago, (I'm sort of new to this hens and chicks business), The pot had 2 hens and was overflowing with chicks. I decided to take them out because they were literally starting to look weird and cramped. I guess that was the downfall because one by one they each started to die, I fiddled around, moving them into different pots, more and more died as I realized its either not enough water or too much. Finally I made these sort of make shift pots out of cups(trying to recycle, at least until they started growing and yes I drilled holes at the bottom,). Basically I've tried everything. I don't know what is going on now with these plants, and I started out with so many, and now I'm only left with two and I'm pretty sure these are dying, because I've become accustomed to the process of getting softer and darker and then they are dead. Can I still save them? and If so do you know how?
In the photo I sort of misted them with water, and a little bit of buttermilk, I heard its a great fertilizer.
Thumb of 2014-11-28/jasminealicia/0c6ab0
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Nov 28, 2014 10:34 AM CST
Name: Lynn
Oregon City, OR (Zone 8b)
Charter ATP Member Garden Sages I helped plan and beta test the plant database. I helped beta test the Garden Planting Calendar I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Plant Database Moderator
Forum moderator I helped beta test the first seed swap Million Pollinator Garden Challenge Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Plant and/or Seed Trader Garden Ideas: Master Level
Hi Jasmine, and Welcome! to ATP. Glad you found your way here.
Can you give us some background, like:
Where do you live, in the southern states, midwest, southwest, etc.
What is your growing zone?
Are those kept outdoors, or indoors?
What are you using for a growing medium?
Do they have roots, if so what do the roots look like?
Are they in sun or shade?

They do NOT look like they are suffering from lack of water. The leaves are not puckered/shriveled looking, as they would from dehydration.
The soil soil doesn't look soggy. But it also doesn't look like something sempervivum would like to grow in.
Avatar for jasminealicia
Nov 29, 2014 7:19 AM CST
Thread OP

Okay, I live in Georgia, zone 8a.
I use Miracle Gro Succulent, Palm and Citrus Potting Mix.
I keep them indoors on my windowsill, I keep the blinds closed so they get a mix of sunlight and shade.
They have like one long root, the same one when it was attached to the hen. Other than that I don't really see much.
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Nov 29, 2014 1:23 PM CST
Name: Lynn
Oregon City, OR (Zone 8b)
Charter ATP Member Garden Sages I helped plan and beta test the plant database. I helped beta test the Garden Planting Calendar I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Plant Database Moderator
Forum moderator I helped beta test the first seed swap Million Pollinator Garden Challenge Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Plant and/or Seed Trader Garden Ideas: Master Level
It sounds like what you are calling a root might be the stolon, that attaches it to the hen/rosette.
Another thing about sempervivum, they do not do well growing indoors. They are an alpine type plant and really need the cold changes of winter in order to thrive. With you living in Zone 8 it seems that you would have some winter type weather? Perfect.

Can you take the offset out of the pot and take a picture of the underside, so I can see if it is starting to form new roots?
You also might have better results with using a sandy loam mix to plant them in. You can get a small bag of Miracle Grow planting mix, add some coarse sand and lay the offsets on top of the new mix. Make sure you don't get the one that has the moisture holding beads in it. What I see in your container shows a mix that is mainly made from tree products and may some moss? If you think about where our sempervivum originate from you realize that they prefer rock type products, like sand, rock dust, grit/gravel.
You can start lightly misting them once you see new white roots forming.

Jasmine, sending you treemail.
Avatar for jasminealicia
Nov 29, 2014 11:28 PM CST
Thread OP

Okay hopefully it will last, the other one hasalready withered like completely. So I should take it outside? And yes it's gotten colder here.
Thumb of 2014-11-30/jasminealicia/c92dd7
I don't see any white roots at all. If anything I see like Brown roots and that doesn't sound to good.

Thumb of 2014-11-30/jasminealicia/6c22b3
And this is what it looks like now. It looks fine in the camera but its soft and trtranslucent I took some leaves before it got worse so I could try and save them, but i don't know what's going on.
Thumb of 2014-11-30/jasminealicia/8f59c4
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Nov 30, 2014 9:13 AM CST
Name: Lynn
Oregon City, OR (Zone 8b)
Charter ATP Member Garden Sages I helped plan and beta test the plant database. I helped beta test the Garden Planting Calendar I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Plant Database Moderator
Forum moderator I helped beta test the first seed swap Million Pollinator Garden Challenge Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Plant and/or Seed Trader Garden Ideas: Master Level
Remove all of the dead parts, leaves and the dead stolon. Place it on top of a pot of dry soil and put it in your unheated garage.
I am not sure you will be able to save this baby. I see that the center of the leaves is looking like it is rotting (last photo)?
Sempervivum will not start from leaf cuttings like many of the tender succulents will.

Jasmine let me know if it responds to the change. Smiling
Avatar for jasminealicia
Nov 30, 2014 8:30 PM CST
Thread OP

Eh since I don't have garage I decided to put it outside. Its been outside all day. I don't think its responded, I think its gotten worse. Do you have an Idea on what I did wrong? You said something about white roots? none of them had white roots, they were brown.
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Nov 30, 2014 8:42 PM CST
Name: Lynn
Oregon City, OR (Zone 8b)
Charter ATP Member Garden Sages I helped plan and beta test the plant database. I helped beta test the Garden Planting Calendar I was one of the first 300 contributors to the plant database! Plant Database Moderator
Forum moderator I helped beta test the first seed swap Million Pollinator Garden Challenge Celebrating Gardening: 2015 Plant and/or Seed Trader Garden Ideas: Master Level
It is hard to say. If they were healthy before you divided them and replanted, it might be the potty mix.

Mature roots are brown, but new roots are white.
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