Hello everyone.
I am as new to this as a person can be. I've never been really growing plants as well, but I simply fell in love with semps and couldn't resist anymore.
Probem is I do not have a garden or a balcony, I live in an appartement. I read some sites giving basic information about growing semps and I just went for it, since everyone said that they can easily be grown inside. My fascinattion sowly grows, but whenever I wanted to find more specific information, I couldn't find anything until I stumbled upon this forum. So I am hoping someone can advice me something.
In april I bought the most common semps, but they were slighty different. Not anymore though. They seem to feel great, they just lost all the colors. I wonder if it is because they are not growing outside or maybe it is because of the soil? They are standing right next to the window in full sun.
Pics below






It is not easy to get different semps in Denmark, so I am really excited I found this beauty just yesterday Hope it's not gonna go all green on me as well



Cheers

Welcome to this forum, Pepper.

You do seem to like Sempervivums! In regards to your question, Sempervivums do change their colors as the seasons go by. In Spring they tend to be their most vibrant in color and then they tend to turn different colors of green. This is why Spring is the best time to buy Semps as one can see the differences. Also for some cultivars, the sun will heighten the coloring while in other cultivars, the cold will do that.

If your semps "feel great" like how they were when you bought them, then it sounds ok. Your first photo shows 3 pots and the one on the right looks like the rosettes are stretching (etiolating) for more light. This is a result of them not having enough sunlight. Eventually the rosettes will lose their compactness/shape as the leaves of the head stretch out. Ideally Semps should be outside to get the sun exposure and the ventilation. They are hardy to very cold temps as they are alpine plants.

Your last photo shows an Echeveria, not a Semp. That is a tender succulent and is not hardy. It can be tolerant to 7 C (45 F) in temperature. Your plant can be indoors but needs to be near window w/ full sun to maintain the compactness of the rosette shape. It should not change in color though it may fade a little because lack of light.

Hi Pepper... you came to the right place. We all also fell in love with semps... it's so easy to do.
However, semps do really like to be outdoors. They would be most healthy that way and even appreciate freezing in the winter. But I think you can grow them indoors but I don't know much about that. Although they will certainly not be at their best.

Your last picture I agree is an Echeveria, not a sempervivum. Completely different. It would die in freezing temperatures. You might have better luck with those indoors. The good news is that there is a large variety of colors and forms to choose from. You might try another forum in this web site:

http://garden.org/forums/view/...

webesemps said:
Your first photo shows 3 pots and the one on the right looks like the rosettes are stretching (etiolating) for more light. This is a result of them not having enough sunlight. Eventually the rosettes will lose their compactness/shape as the leaves of the head stretch out. .

This actually did occur. They got long and funny. Couldn't find any answers to why this is happening, so I just figured it out, that they must have been looking for light. First photo is showing the semps right after I bought them. Since then they have been moved together to other pot (second picture), standing on the window with a lot of ventilation and seem to be feeling good.

The plan is they will stay there until I have my own garden and can let them go into the wilds.

Thank you for fast responses

Welcome Pepper to this forum For me semps didn't last indoors at all, but the other succulents do fine, I do water less and this helps them keep their shape a little bit, you do want them in the brightest full sun possible!!
Cheers and good luck

Hi, PepperP and !

I love Denmark! So so beautiful there. Yep, your semps probably lost their color from not being in sun. Mine turn mostly green in summer, the heat and having to keep them shaded!

Have you tried a grow/plant light? I've never tried it but using one might help prevent etiolation from setting in. There are also bird lights that people use to keep their parrots healthy during the winter. One of those might have enough artificial sunlight to help your plants.

You last picture looks like a Perle von Nurnberg echeveria to me. Echeverias are fun too! your plants look very nice!

Ok, I forgot to mention that the windows my plants are standing on is huge and directed towards south. So my semps stand in a crazy danish sun all the time. I guess we shall see how it goes and I am gonna keep you updated.

The grow plant might be a good idea for winter time but I am worried, isn't that gonna disturb they natural cycle even more? Since they are indoors they are not gonna freeze or go through hardship of life. Unless me giving them water once a week is enough of a struggle for them.

Ah, okay glad to hear that. Whenever I think of people growing plants indoors I think of dark basements and grow lights I wouldn't think a grow light would throw off their natural cycle because you can always turn it on/off or set the hours and their dormancy is set off by the cold. I think semps are probably like tarragon, without a good chill they will just get weaker and finally die.

Speaking of cold, interesting to think about getting them some chilly weather in an apartment. Aside from cracking the window (brrrr!) you could try moving them closer to the window to get some cold air seeping in. Unless your flat has really good insulation In that case you could always try putting them in the refrigerator at night too I suppose.

So grow lamp during a day time and refrigerator during nights, got it my life partner gonna love me even more

I did grow semps under a grow light in the house one winter. It keeps them from stretching for light, but they will not show their beautiful colors in the house. They don't grow much, just exist. The lights were on about 14 hrs. a day. The next spring when I put them outside they caught right up to the others though.

Pepper, I wouldn't worry about putting them in the fridge, it would probably be too sudden, and shock them. Usually weather takes a bit to change, and so plants can handle it easier. If they begin to look bad, you can always plant them in one of your neighbors rockery or somewhere that you can walk by and see them.