I have been collecting semps over the past year and today noticed my Arctic White having this weird bump coming from the original mother rosette, and I think it's wanting to bloom. It's trying to push through the thick webbing. This will be my first time seeing it in person.

Just curious too, does anyone else think this pineapple paradise is death blooming? It was huge last September, I took the chicks off for reference, and it started growing really weird. Gets PLENTY of sun so I don't think it's stretching.. thoughts?

They are both blooming, it's good that you separated the chicks from the hen as sometimes they might start blooming too, depending on cultivar and conditions.

PaleoTemp said: They are both blooming, it's good that you separated the chicks from the hen as sometimes they might start blooming too, depending on cultivar and conditions.

I always split some up just in case, I've heard of colony blooms happening.. I really didn't think the pineapple one was blooming, just kind of mutating but it makes sense now. I will give an update how it looks as it blooms.

Yes, it looks like both are going to bloom. You might have fun cross pollinating the two to see what you get.

That's a great idea, I hadn't thought about that. Will definitely give it a try.

There they go.

I grow a lot of semps but haven't really explored their reproductive cycles...I have observed that often when they bloom they die...so this is what must be referred to as a "deathbloom"! This season I have started just cutting it off after it is about an inch long, not really knowing what would happen. I've never really liked the look of the blooming stalk. What's happening though is that new babies are forming on the cut surface...awesome! My question here is does this practice of cutting off the bloom damage the main plant in the long run?

cwalke said: I grow a lot of semps but haven't really explored their reproductive cycles...I have observed that often when they bloom they die...so this is what must be referred to as a "deathbloom"! This season I have started just cutting it off after it is about an inch long, not really knowing what would happen. I've never really liked the look of the blooming stalk. What's happening though is that new babies are forming on the cut surface...awesome! My question here is does this practice of cutting off the bloom damage the main plant in the long run?

I've heard that you have a chance of it living for another year but it doesn't always work. Keep us updated if it survives. My flower stalks are dying off now and the rosettes haven't "died" yet but they turned red and look stressed so I assume they will wither away soon.

Here are updates to my first blooms.

Yes, things are heating up in the blooming department. It's that time of year.
Cody, anteater is correct, cutting the stalks off can sometimes prolong the life of the rosette, but most of the time she will die anyway. Watch your tiny offsets that are forming, sometimes they also will bloom. If they show signs of blooming cut them off, you may force the rosette to eventually produce some viable offsets.
Sempervivum are monocarpic plants, plants that flower and set seeds only once, and then die.

The blooms are a wonderful source of food for all the pollinators. I leave mine until the blooms are finished, then dig out the dying rosette, or let the seeds mature for harvest if it is one that I want to propagate.

Nice photos anteater.

At the time of creating this post, I thought my Gold Rush was blooming as well, however, it hasn't changed much. This is how it looks. Any ideas what's going on?

anteater, wow!
Great photo. Looks like your 'Gold Rush' has decided to send a cluster of offsets from the center of the rosette. I have had this happen over the years with other cultivars. Sometimes, the following spring it can bloom. Other times not.
You can cut the center out and separate the offsets and root them. Keep them in a protected area until they root if you do that.
Please keep us updated on what you decide and the progress.
Also you can start a new new thread to document your progress.