Sempervivum and Jovibarba forum

A comment from the breeder of 'Holly Jolly'.

JungleShadows said:Holly Jolly is one of the more unusually patterned Killer seedlings and it did SCREAM XMAS because of the red and green coloration. It's not as big as some of the others from those groups.

Oddly enough I haven't used it much in crosses. I was concentrating on the bigger siblings. (much to Bev's chagrin!)

Kevin

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A quote from Kevin Vaughn:

JungleShadows said:Weirdo isn't quilled but it is ODD. Splits and produces rosettes at strange places and never has a proper center. Very unkempt!

Kevin

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A quote from Kevin Vaughn:

JungleShadows said:Aymon Correvon and Belladonna are nearly sterile. Aymon Correvon is a montanum X wulfenii cross so two diploids with different chromosome counts. It is the plant equivalent of a mule. Belladonna is montanum X somebody but i'm not sure who. I still try each year to cross on to Aymon but so far not seedling one. Greenwich Time is montanum X calcareum and i have exactly ONE seedling. It is a nice one though!

Kevin

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A quote from Kevin Vaughn:

JungleShadows said:Aymon Correvon and Belladonna are nearly sterile. Aymon Correvon is a montanum X wulfenii cross so two diploids with different chromosome counts. It is the plant equivalent of a mule. Belladonna is montanum X somebody but i'm not sure who. I still try each year to cross on to Aymon but so far not seedling one. Greenwich Time is montanum X calcareum and i have exactly ONE seedling. It is a nice one though!

Kevin

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I am fond of Sempervivum Tectorum because it has actually been in my family for 100 years! It was only here at garden.org that I found out it was a "Semp" - we always just called them Hens & Chicks. Until recently, I thought there was only one variety of Semps, but the Semp forum here is extremely active and I found there are many, many varieties of Semps. Some of them are mostly red, and some of them are rather fuzzy. I don't think all of those may be as hardy as this one though - this one is very hardy (at least a hundred years hardy!). I live in Ohio (zone 6) and my semps do very well here - both in summer and winter. Each 'hen" sends out smaller ones, called "chicks." They grow in a big mass and make a good ground cover for sunny areas. I also use them for erosion control and they are great for that. They are trouble free, require minimal water, and weeds or grass will not grow through them at all. When I transplant them to different areas, I just pull them up, lay them down where I want them, and sprinkle a little dirt over the root. They look great all lined up along a walkway and will keep soil from washing onto the sidewalk. On occasion, they will bloom - sending up a tall stalk with pink flowers on them. Blooming signals their death though, which is not usually a problem because they usually produce several chicks first. And if you are interested in crossing Semps to breed new varieties, you need them to bloom to do that. The Semp forum is great here, and can help you with that, or give you more information.

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