Product Field NotesCompanion Plants
Pacific Blue Ice Hen and Chicks: Icy Cups Along the Gravel
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Pacific Blue Ice hen and chicks is one of the bluer Sempervivum you can grow. Its rosettes are icy blue-green with a powdery finish, and the leaves curve upward into neat cups that flush rose pink toward the center. The color is strongest with cool nights and full sun, so spring and fall are its best seasons.
Each hen sends out chicks that cluster around it, and those can be pulled off and replanted whenever you like. It is generous that way.
Pacific Blue Ice at a glance
| Trait | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Botanical name | Sempervivum 'Pacific Blue Ice' |
| Rosettes | Cupped, 2 to 4 inches across, icy blue-green flushed rose |
| Size | 3 to 4 inches tall, 6 to 8 inches wide as a cluster |
| Flowers | Occasional short stalk of star-shaped flowers in summer |
| Hardiness | USDA zones 3 to 8 |
| Light | Full sun |
| Foliage | Evergreen through winter |
| Deer | Resistant |
Why it belongs next to lavender
Hens and chicks want exactly what lavender wants: sun-baked, lean, gravelly ground that drains fast. That makes them one of the easiest partners for the front edge of a lavender bed. The low, round rosettes are a sculptural contrast to lavender's upright stems, and the icy blue pairs nicely with silver lavender foliage, especially in spring before the bloom.
Try a ribbon of rosettes along a stone edge, between pavers on a path through the lavender, or in pockets of gravel mulch. Plan it out in the Companion Plant Planner.
Planting and care
- Soil: poor to average with sharp drainage: gravel, sandy soil, rock crevices or shallow containers.
- Water: very little. Avoid heavy soil and overhead watering in humid weather.
- Summer: rosettes may close up and lose some color in the hottest weeks, then recover in fall.
- Flowering: a rosette that blooms dies afterward. Cut off the spent stalk and let a chick fill the gap.
- Pests: watch for mealybugs and vine weevil larvae; rot in wet soil is the main cause of loss.
Winter and containers
Pacific Blue Ice is fully hardy in Michigan and stays evergreen under snow. Drainage is the key to getting it through a wet spring thaw. In a container, use a gritty mix and a pot with a drainage hole, and keep it somewhere the pot will not sit in water. A shallow bowl of blue rosettes next to a potted lavender makes a nice pairing for a sunny step.
Frequently asked questions
How do I spread the chicks?
Gently twist or pull off an offset with a bit of stem and set it on gritty soil. It roots on its own.
Why did my rosette die after blooming?
That is normal for hens and chicks. The chicks around it carry on.
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