They just make me think of a plant that is light hearted. Not sure why that impression, but I sure love their pluckiness. Twit is the one that got me interested in them early last year.

I just love the little hirtas. I just purchased a pretty NOID at my local garden center. It's dark out now, but I'll get a pic later.

Can't wait to see it Terri. I got my first ones last year, and love every one of them.

I put this in the Semp chat thread... thought the hirta lovers might like to see it. Same photo.

Ok here is the cutest little Jovibarba hirta you'll ever see! J. hirta f/Belansky Tatra

• Rollers (Sempervivum globiferum subsp. preissianum 'from Belianske Tatras')
• Uploaded by insiderart

4/25/11 N. Georgia Zone 6b

I have that one too, perhaps one of my first hirta's. It's a beaut. Your pic nicely shows a bunch of new offsets in early formation

And how cute that I can see some of them starting to open their leaves. I love the one twit sent me last year.
Terri you should put that wonderful photo in the database.

I love how incredibly prolific these are. I only have arenaria x hirta f/Belansky Tatra, Olympicum and an unknown I picked up locally. But I have a LOT of them now. I could easily put some rollers in a paper bag in a small box and mail some for the price of postage, if anyone is interested. Could probably get away with first class postage around $2.00. Some of the rollers on the rollers have rollers. They propagate like rabbits.

tabby said:Some of the rollers on the rollers have rollers. They propagate like rabbits.

They sure do tabby. I have about 4 different ones. Twit was the one that got me started on them last year. Nothing seems to bother them. Because the birds will move the rollers around the bed, I keep them in separate beds so I won't get them mixed up.

J. 'Col de Turini'

valleylynn said:

They sure do tabby. I have about 4 different ones. Twit was the one that got me started on them last year. Nothing seems to bother them. Because the birds will move the rollers around the bed, I keep them in separate beds so I won't get them mixed up.

Well this is good to know!!

How could you not love those chubby little faces starring up at you from the bed or pot?

The hirtas are my favorites. So cute!

Tabby, You could put a few rollers inside a bubble envelope. The 3x6 (or is it 5x8?) size ships most places for under $1.50. I am interested in Olympicum. Want to do a mini trade? I could send you several others in trade for the Olympicum.

Mine are in pots in case a roller gets ambitious. I do not keep them side by side and any escapees get moved to my living walls containers if caught outside of their "home"

It is some times hard to keep them corralled. They are a frisky bunch.

Not only do they 'roll', they are also easy to grow from seed, so I'm sure there is a lot of hybridization going on. Mine from seed all look so variable, I'm pretty sure that's what's happened. Not all of mine are from my own plants, so eventually I'll get pretty much all the variables possible.

You can't have to many of these. For some reason they make me feel cheerful just looking at them.

Twitcher, I use a small box since I don't have to buy it like I would a bubble mailer. It goes as a "small package, thick evelope" first class mail. If I don't use the $0.19 Paypal delivery confimation, I can ship for around $1.75.

C-mail me your address and I can mail some Olympicum.

Oh boy, something else to grow from seed. Now I'll have to try it. My spouse will pull his grey hair out. I've grown hundreds of roses, daylilies and many other things from collected, hybridized seed. Are semps easy from seed too? Probably not worse than some of the things I've grown.

Very easy from seed Tabby. Just look at what Jacki has been growing. You just won't know what the parentage is. Maybe which semp the seed came from but not who the contributing parent is. Or if self pollinated they still won't be the same as the parent plant. But just think of all the great surprises waiting to be born.

That's what I like - it's always Christmas!

Here's a couple of "spitters" in my pots outside my back door from North Hills.
Den