Hi all, I'm rather new to Sempervivum plants in general, and bought 2 plants one year ago and started as green , now turning a redder shade.

The pot I bought it in was rather small, so I transferred to a bigger pot, with stones at the bottom of soil ( as well as holes in the pot) for drainage.

Now, I was wondering why this plant hasn't grown any chicks?
Is it because the pot is too small?

Also, Is there any way to make a sempervivum healthier so to speak?
I have a smaller sempervivum, which used to be around the same size as the one in photo, but has shrunk?

I've looked after them both the same, and this is the only one that has shown weakening of any kind.

I don't water them all that often and they get 74 F/ 23C weather temp now that summer is around.

These plants are very fascinating, but I feel I'm doing something wrong as they both could look healthier. :/




Any help and/or tips most appreciated and welcomed. Thank you .

Welcome Leo! The photo I see looks to be of a healthy sempervivum, good rosette shape, leaves look to be firm, pointing outward and surface is not wrinkled but taut. The littler one must be in another pot?...and I am wondering when you say "shrunk" does that mean the leaves are shrinking or the entire plant is shrinking? Sometimes leaves wrinkle when not enough water available or if it got too much sun and then it gets fried and shrinks at the edges. Also the smaller one may be a different cultivar which might explain difference in size. Do you have a pic of the smaller, weakening semp?

Good drainage in the soil is one of the most important factors in keeping sempervivums healthy. Let the soil dry out and then give thorough watering. Semps don't like the soil moist all the time Add rock or coarse sand to the soil to help drainage.

Not all semps give out offsets at the same time; the arachnoideum types chick much earlier than the other semps. And even when it's the season to chick, not all give offsets. Be patient, it may happen and if not this year, enjoy the healthy plant. If you are wanting offsets to take care of treat yourself to more sempervivums in the small size!

Hello, Thanks for replying and for the welcome. ^^

This is the other plant compared to the other ( The weaker on the your right, Looking at them now, perhaps not the right word to describe, but definitely the smaller of the two )
The leaves/part on the bottom of the semper browns, so I pluck the old/ dead ones off.

Same pot as the other.

Ah right, Thanks! Yes, the soil I have isn't mixed with anything, so I'll give that a try as well.

Yes, I see the 2nd picture and notice that both plants look very similar, probably the same cultivar. To me, they both seem to be healthy and yes unsightly brown leaves can be plucked but only if they give way easily. Some leaves may not be ready to be pulled.
Yes, amend the soil if you think drainage could be improved and no two plants if bought separately will grow exactly at same speed and same growth size. The coloring and overall look of both plants appear to be good. Just continue to monitor, and feel the leaves for firmness and check between all leaves where they join stem for bugs and check that the soil is not too moist all the time.

Great advice Bev.
I would like to add, when you redo your soil and fill the containers fill them almost to the top of the pot. Then after replanting add a top dressing of small gravel/pea gravel or chicken grit. This will keep the leaves up off of the soil.
If the two plants are the same cultivar, 'Red Heart', it could be that one is getting more sun? The smaller one is looking like it it me etiolated? Can you show us a photo from the top of the both plants?
The soil from what I can see looks to be a bit wet. The latest information on growing in containers are saying not to put rocks/gravel in the bottom of the containers. Just mix in pumice/grit/ or larger sized coarse sand with your potting mix.
Also, usually the older an rosette is the larger it will be if given room to grow.
It also looks like your weather is just beginning to warm up, this can be why they aren't producing offsets yet.

to NGA Minttea! You're in the right place to go really wild about sempervivum!
I think for most semps the perfect sized pot is around 15cm's This will give them room for offsetting and root development. Cheers and welcome

Welcome, Leo. I would just like to add...be careful pulling those bottom leaves off, especially in the Spring. When I first started growing semps, I used to do that. Most often, the offset buds are attached to those bottom leaves. If you pull them, there's a good chance you won't get any more offsets that year.

Two more great bits of information. You guys are awesome.

And I am embarrassed. When I saw your photos I completely forgot to give you a great big
So glad you found your way here. And Greg is right, this is the place to be if you love sempervivum.

Lynn is right, Leo. This IS the place to be if you love semps. I came here, because everybody is here to talk semps. My husband tolerates my nonstop semp chatter ( because he has to), but friends and family are pretty much sick of it. Nobody gets sick of semp talk here.

Is it possible to be sick of semp talk?