Hello everyone,

I am new to the sempervivum world and need to ask for some help. I bought this one from the hardware store and would like to know if I should divide it into individuals and put them in pots or plant it as a clump in the garden as is It was unlabelled so I don't know what type it is.

It's late spring here in an alpine area of Australia and I am in a hot/dry / low humidity climate in summer where it snows in winter. The natural soil here is already perfect for semps as the few I planted many years ago in my rockery have spread to cover a large part it without any care whatsoever. (I don't know what type it is either!)

I have uploaded a few pics and thank you for any help or advice you can give me with the semps I have. I love them!
Thanks,
Patti

This one I bought today.


This one she said was a "Flamingo"


These are pups given to me, unidentified



And a pic of the unidentified type of semps in my rockery

Sunlover to the Semp Side of ATP! Thanks for sharing with us some of your beauties.

Your new acquisition (looks to be a sort of arachnoideum-type of semp) can be handled any way you choose depending on whether you want to add a fuller look to some spot in your garden, in which case you can plant entire clump into the ground or want to scatter that green-hairy accent look in different spots.

I don't know what your conditions are like but to be on the safe side you can separate a few of the new semps from the clump, pot them up in a couple of pots and see what spot in your garden these can acclimate easier to. Here in my zone 9b and in my semp bed located under a wall of windows which reflect a lot of sunlight and the afternoon sun tends to bake my arachnoideum-type semps so moved them and planted them behind rocks that offer shade or in spots that offer a little protection in the afternoon.

Your rock garden spill of semps look to be of the tectorum type and they look beautiful and healthy!

Hi Sunlover, and to ATP. So glad you found your way here.
I agree with Bev, your new sempervivum does appear to be of arachnoideum heritage. It is lovely and healthy looking. I also agree with that you can either divide it or plant it as a clump. Maybe take a few of the offsets and start a new colony?

It also looks like you already have a wonderful feel of how to grow them in your part of the world, your other semps look healthy and happy.
Here are more photos of S. 'Flamingo'. It goes through some interesting color changes. Would love to see more photos of it as it changes color.

oops @ValleyLynn meant to include some photos...she must be hunting for them now, Sun!

Your semps growing in your rockery are wonderful!

Hi Sunlover and ! I love your rockery semps. They do look very healthy and happy. Your Flamingo is beautiful .

Thank you everyone! What a nice place to be and so much help and advice. After I posted I went out to the garden center but didn't buy anything (they didn't have any sempers!). It is great to come home to some replies!

Webesemps thanks for the tectorum ID. They seem to love wherever I put them but I think that's mostly luck because I really knew nothing about them when I planted them years ago. That is interesting about the Flamingo and I will definitely take some seasonal photos of it. I don't plan on putting that one in the garden but into a nice pot so I can keep an eye on it. It has 2 little pups already. I hope ValleyLynn finds some photos. I have seen some on the web but never sure if they are the correct IDs.

I will separate and pot up a few. Many "chicks" look like they are big enough to plant right out. I think I have a nice place to put them in my newly prepared bed (west facing but gets protection from trees and boulders. And in an area which gets morning sun but no afternoon sun. Is that suited to semps? I was thinking of putting some echeverias in with them but the frost and cold worries me a bit.

Semps are not common in Aus and I live in a sparsely populated alpine area - people here tend to plant conifers and deciduous trees, roses, bulbs, annuals and woody Aus natives to cope with drought and snowcover.

I am dealing with big lizards that bite chunks out of my succulents, even took huge bites out of my Sansevieria but they don't touch the semps! Another reason to love them.

Thank you again

Silly me, I forgot to add the link for Flamingo photos.
http://sempervivum-liste.de/Se...
Hen and Chicks (Sempervivum 'Flamingo')

That is most wonderful to know that the lizards don't like the semps.
You could keep the echeverias in pots and sink them in the ground, then bring them indoors for winter. But then if the lizards eat them

Hi Sunlover,
I enjoyed your photos. I'd love to see a pic of your entire rockery if you don't mind me asking and when you have time. I've just made a small one of my own, so I'm always on the lookout for tips and ideas.

Welcome aboard Sunlover I'm a newbie here too. That flamingo looks lovely, it was introduced by the famous Ed Skrocki, you may have noticed there's a thread about him on here. Must order one myself as I'm currently making up a shopping list for when the nurseries start delivery around April. The one thing I will say to you is the importance of free draining soil although I suspect rain might not be a problem in Oz like it is here .

Here is another link for information on 'Flamingo'. The thread "Sempervivum 'Flamingo'" in Sempervivum forum

@ValleyLynn WOW @ those Flamingos! Mine has the grayish leaves still and it's beautiful the way it is but if it goes those dynamite shades of pink all over... Thanks for the links! She is definitely going into a nice pot! (back I go to the garden center).

@Eviesmummy, sure I will take some pics of my rockeries to post but mind you, they are in need of so much work, right now they are a hodge podge of perennials, pines, iris, misc plants I just threw in and I feel like digging the whole thing up and starting again. We had an Eastern Brown Snake infestation for a few seasons so the spring gardening was pretty much abandoned until we got that under control last year. Still, I almost put my hand on a baby brown snake a few days ago while clearing for a new rockery .

@Paddy we do get flooding rains sometimes but usually only brief angry storms between long hot dry spells and our natural soil is pure decomposed granite and coarse sand, very free draining. We have horses and compost the manure for fertilizer and it does really well for the veggie garden, but that's pretty much all we use it for. I sometimes buy a bag of compost to mix in with the garden soil if it a plant really needs something in it.

I am also doing our entrance driveway which is a huge job for me and I'm kind of scared of it but I need to get it established before winter sets in - in June.

I'll go take some pics now!

Uhhh, Patti, isn't that the snake that is so poisonous?
How do you get rid of them?

Yes @Valleylynn it is the 2nd most dangerous snake in the world. We just have to be aware that they can be anywhere and be careful and keep an eye out. I have had a few close calls though. We drained the greywater pond that was within the house yard, used every snake repellent known to man and put my quarter horses in the house yard for a few hours every day in spring. They keep the any grass/weeds down in the rockeries and snakes don't like horses so they don't hang around. That's my theory anyway. Hubby is pretty hand with a shotgun too. But you know, it's part of life on the farm.

That is true. I lived around Coral Snakes, Rattlesnakes and Water Moccasin.
Where we live now there are no poisonous snakes.

Goodness Patti, that sounds dangerous, be careful! I'm fortunate that other than the occasional grass snake there's nothing like that to worry about in my garden. Although I came very close to loosing my whole semp collection at one point due to a grub infestation. Yuck! It's horrible to see so much hard work ruined

What plans do you have for your driveway?

Hello Patti welcome to ATP!! Its exciting to have someone growing semps in "different" locations so we can see how they do! I live in Seattle so pretty much the opposite of your weather (in all ways actually since we're in winter now :nodding:)
I'm thinking you'll want to plant your named varieties in part shade rather than full sunshine (in winter they'd be fine but in summer it may be too hot for them)
The tectorum type that you have in your rockery tends to be the easiest to grow, and will put up with a lot!! (which is why it is probably the most common that you'll see in gardens)
Your soil sounds perfect for semps!! They don't seem to need compost, and they love sand and crushed granite, so you're good there!! Can't wait to see what you do with them!

Eviesmummy grubs UGH! We get migrations of big grey orange-spotted ones up the gum trees in autumn. Nasty things. Not sure what I'm going to do with the driveway yet. I may be biting off more than I can chew. We have a big entry to the farm, it's like a highway so it may need a sprinkler system, and more complicated things and I don't know if I want to deal with all that.

Thank you for the welcome Greg! You will see in the pics below where I want to put the semsps. I have put the tectorums in there and they seem to want more sun. Not growing as actively as the ones on the northwest (the spill) part of the rockery. I have another area on the north east part of the house I will put more. That's where the drystone wall is.

Here are some pics of my rockery. Soon to be semper-succulent garden.

This is the west facing part of the rockery. The big yellow flowered succulent in the front I haven't identified but it is thriving. It gets SUPER hot.


This is the other side (east facing) under the blue tree after blooming where I want to put the semps. It only gets morning sun.



Further down all of this will be dug out. It is pretty exposed here so I think it will be mostly sedum.


And the new bed I just cleared. West facing, gets shade in the morning and early afternoon, then it cooks. This is where I encountered the baby snake! The bed at the top with the irises was a place will be cleared over winter


Thinking of creating a new bed here on the northeast side of the house.


And the view from my front yard, facing due west (that's bushfire smoke).

Thank you for the pictures, you have a beautiful rockery, and the view - BREATHTAKING!!!

What is the blue tree? I love the colour of the blooms!
I love the large rocks in your new bed too, they'll make a beautiful back drop for your plants.
Have you thought about putting semps in the crags of the wall? Or doesn't it get enough light?

Hi Patti, I'm a bit late but welcome to ATP - great to have you here! What a beautiful location and scenery where you live. Your rockery is so pretty! I love the combination of plants in your first picture, those colors compliment each other very well. Looks like you have lots of room for semps. Looking forward to more pictures as you work on all your new plans.