Lynn, that would be one way to label them - you could also wait for the polka dot ones, and make up your own name. It really depends on if you want to sell them as named varieties or just use them for crafts or landscaping.

I think I will dream about your little seedlings tonight. All of them growing up with polka-dots and zebra stripes. Ah, what a wonderful dream that will be.

Lynn & Blue, You would call the plant that resulted "seedling of Red Rubin" if you only knew one of the parents, in this case the seed parent. If you knew the pollen parent as well, then you could list it as a cross between the two.

If the resulting plant was different enough from all of the other thousands of cultivars, then it would be appropriate to give it a name. Sometimes a grower will number the plants being evaluated and the number might stick to a successful variety. For example, Purdy's cultivars come in a selection of numbered varieties (as well as Big Red!). The numbering schemes, of course, depend on the person creating the plants.

Speaking of variegated sempervivums, there have been a few examples seen. However, I don't think any of them lasted too long or were very successful. A healthy, variegated semp would be a nice addition to the hobby. Personally, I hope to never see a polka-dotted one.

No polka-dots twit? You know you would love it after giving it life.

Twit, are your heuffs, doing any better? What about the ones I sent you. I have separated most of mine and they seem to be doing well. I can't believe how some of them all of a sudden took off and started multiplying.
I will take some pictures today to post.

Of the 4 bulk trades that I did, I received a number of heuff's from 2 of them, which includes yours. The other trade heuff's haven't fared very well. It looks like I have lost at least two of them (to rot). Others are single rosette's that are blooming and typically the rosette that blooms will die. I'm hoping that some may generate another rosette from the root alone, but I've not experimented with this to see if it will happen when the plant/rosette is small and single. One interesting situation is a two rosette start with one rosette that rotted and the other that is flowering.

The ones you sent me are doing fine, but it has been a tough summer for my heuffelii. Too much rain followed immediately by too much heat. I was concerned I was going to lose all of my Mars as several rotted on me. I'm watching them very closely. I think the weather is the principle cause of the problems with the new heuff's. Surprisingly, my Xanthoheuff which had a reputation for easy rotting, is doing well. However, it has decided to bloom as well.

So its a little too hard for me to tell at this point how they will do. I usually like to wait until the following season for new plants to tell how they will do here. I received some very, very nice plants in all of the trades, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed and giving all due care. I really want to see what they will look like growing here when they size up.

With all the heuff's blooming, I am looking forward to collecting some seed this year and starting it indoors over the winter.

I should have extras in a month if you need them twit. Keep me updated, and I will keep you updated on how mine are doing. So far no sign of blooming.

Hey I got a question, What's the difference in a Semp and a Heuff's??? New at this.
Huh??? Huh???

I am going to let twit address that question Charleen. I can tell the difference but afraid I would really only confuse you with trying to tell you the difference. : )
Until twit posts here is a short version. Semps produce offsets from long to short stolons. Heuffs produce offsets from the rosettes own root instead of a stolen.
Here is an expample of J. heuffelii 'Bronze Ingot', see how the rosettes appear to be all squished together? That is because they are growing from the same root.

Remember that broken pot??? This is my new flower bed for it.
this is before.

Charleen, Basically they are just two closely related groups of plants. Lynn mentioned one clear feature that helps to distinguish the two.

Sempervivum have a broad range of how long the stolons are. They are also identified by characteristics of the flowers, but basically its a thing with the genetics. There are a number of species of Sempervivum. For example, Sempervivum graceum, Sempervivum octopodes, Sempervivum montanum, etc. There are a lot. The more colorful plants we have in our collections tend to be hybrids that have been developed over time and enhanced from selective breeding.

Jovibarba is another family of plants. They are closely related to Sempervivum and, in fact, have been placed in Sempervivum at some points in time. I think at this point Jovibarba and Sempervivum are separate families, but the scientists could change that at some point. Jovibarba also have different species. There is Jovibarba allonii, Jovibara hirta, Jovibarba heuffelii, and Jovibarba sobolifera. Not as many as Sempervivum. A lot of work has been done with heuffelii over time. Just like with Sempervivum, there are a lot of different varieties that have been developed with selective breeding by hobbyists.

Jovibarba have different genetics than Sempervivum and generally it is very hard to cross breed the two families (I do not know if this has been successfully done with stable results or even possible). As a rule of thumb, Jovi's have fewer petals then Semps and their flowers are yellow and white. Semps have petals in different colors, generally with a range of reddish hues, but there are some that are yellow.

All right. I am going to start looking at them more closely when I go plant shopping.
Thanks.

It is very rare to see a Jovibarba in a store but they are available on line. Good luck in your hunt! The Jovibarba hirta's (rollers) are very hardy and very easy. That is a good place to start. The Jovibarba heuffelii tend to be larger than the hirta's. There is even a Jovibarba hirta x heuffelii out there.

You got a picture??

http://www.edelweissperennials...

It's name is 'Feuerrad'. I wish I had one.

That is a beauty twit. That 'Sundancer' is nothing to sneeze at either.

Truly 'Sundancer' is very nice and one of my all time favorites. It glows! I got it from there and am anxiously awaiting it to set more rosettes. Edelweiss grows very nice plants and even ships potted semps of show quality. I just wish that they had more of the Semp species and more Jovi's. I exchanged some email with the owner at one point, who told me he was reducing selection and inventory, which is sad.

I recieved some plants from them. I would recommend that nursery to anyone, everything they send is wonderful.
Twit, have you ever grown Rosularia? Rosularia rechingeri specifically? I am having a little ID problem with this plant. This is what I received as being that plant, but when I google it I am getting something different.

I had one Rosularia that did not make it through its first winter here, so I do not have much experience with them. Wish I could help.

Is it rotting?on the stem. some plants like that have a tendecy to either; on that stem or just dry up and die.