Always Living Hens and Chicks

sem·per·vi·vum | ˌsempərˈvīvəm |
Latin, from Latin semper 'always' + vivus 'living'.
My hens and Chicks live in the nooks and crannies of a large boulder of pudding stone. They face into the wind, surviving the winter snow and ice. It amazes me how they thrive with very little soil or water.

You captured them perfectly, Maggie. Very pretty banner!

I've never been able to keep them here in our 10a environment,
though they are succulents, and love it where you are.

Yup, they are tough plants! I learned another new term: pudding stone--I've never seen this before. Google shows some beautiful rocks! Do you have pictures of your pudding stone, Maggie?

BTW great banner!

A beautiful banner and great translation from Latin to the English name given. The more I learn, the thirstier I get for more knowledge. Wish that would have happened when I was a teenager.

What a nice banner. It is delicately beautiful for such a durable plant.

edited to add: I also love the DeerXing name and your DeerZing story. Pelting you with acorns for the good laugh.

Congratulations on your first banner, Maggie!

Very nice banner! I like sempervivums and keep a few myself.

Great banner Maggie!

Love the specimen of sempervivum you chose for the banner, and the wonderful crisp details in the photo.

As a closet geology geek, I confess that I'm jealous that you have your very own pudding stone boulder, large enough to provide niches for these hardy specimens. Glaciers deposited a fair number of pudding stones, brought down from Canada, in the area where I live, but I have yet to see one used as yours is. Very creative on your part.

Wonderful banner, and beautiful specimen of Sempervivum globiferum.

lauriemorningglory said:Yup, they are tough plants! I learned another new term: pudding stone--I've never seen this before. Google shows some beautiful rocks! Do you have pictures of your pudding stone, Maggie?

BTW great banner!

This is it, somewhat. This chunk was bequeathed to my husband when his parents downsized. The total of its pieces measure about 2 cu ft. Should you find yourself a bit west of NY's finger lakes region, check out Sonnenberg Gardens. Outstanding pudding stone rock garden! https://www.google.com/search?...

The puddingstone makes a perfect container, and they look very happy
in their niche.
Nice contrast of the plants against the dark stone..... looks like a meteorite.
And it's an heirloom.....very special.

We have some dudleas in crevices in a granite boulder that have done well
with little water, so I will try again with the hens n chicks in a crevice as well.

As long as they aren't baking in the sun, they may make it after all.
Always worth a try.

Cool! Thanks for sharing the picture. I agree with Cal--a wonderful heirloom. And Sonnenberg Gardens looks like a neat place to visit. I like rocks!

BTW, found this awesome website for Sempervivums...
https://mountaincrestgardens.c...

Ordered S. x-ciliosum & S. green ice

We do have Hens n Chicks here, but they are the larger variety.
The smaller varieties are the ones that I wasn't able to grow
earlier, but hope to be successful with them in a rock crevice.

Thanks so much for sharing a shot of your heirloom pudding stone (or puddingstone) with its sempervivums. Your stone looks to have a very different mix of components than the ones I typically see, so I thought I'd share a photo of one of the boulders I frequently see. It's on the bank of the Huron River in a city park. I think it's what is called a jasper puddingstone, because of the numerous inclusions of chunks of jasper, among other rock types. They're the red blobs you can see in the photo. As you can see, this boulder doesn't have the proper indentations to host rock garden types of plants. I'd love to see a puddingstone rock garden!

I always learn something on these threads! Today I learned that the rock we kept from my in-laws garden after they passed is "a thing"! I always heard about the pudding stone, but didn't realize it was called that beyond our family. I would have looked it up! Mom was from NJ, and her brother still lives in Kinnelon. These stones are part of the landscape there. I thought this was just a stone from home, which was enough, but it's a greater treasure now.

@DeerXIng

Maggie,

that rock is really magnificent.....it's reassuring it will be there
for you & your family for generations.

Whether for sempervivums or lichens, it will provide a good home
longer than we will be here.

That's something very comforting about that, at least to me, like a very old
bonsai that's been in the family for many years, though unlike a bonsai,
it pretty much takes care of itself.

Enjoy it for many years.

PS- it would be great to take the same pic every few months,
especially in winter with snow on it. I'm sure we'd all enjoy
more banners of it.

Just in case someone is still listening here,
my 2 sempervivums came in today from Mountain Crest Gardens
https://mountaincrestgardens.c...
Very fast service, well packed, and kept me updated all along.

I just checked on care here https://www.gardeningknowhow.c...
and was surprised to learn sempervivums can tolerate heat (?), and need 50-50 compost & sand or grit (?)

I was going to put them in a rock crevice, but may put them in a shallow bonsai pot instead to keep
an eye on them. But will be careful not to overwater.