Hens and chicks are tough little succulents that grow as a large central rosette, the hen, surrounded by smaller offsets, the chicks. This is an unnamed assortment, so each plant is a surprise in color and form.
They are ideal for the cracks of stone walls and walkways, rock gardens, troughs and shallow containers. Over time the chicks fill in around the hen, and you can pull a few off at any time to start new plants elsewhere.
What it looks like
Tight, symmetrical rosettes 2 to 4 inches across made of thick, pointed, fleshy leaves; colors vary by plant and may include green, blue-green, red, burgundy and bronze, often with darker tips. Smaller rosettes cluster around the larger central one, attached by short runners. Occasionally a rosette sends up a thick stalk topped with small star-shaped flowers. The plants form a low cluster 3 to 4 inches tall and 6 to 8 inches wide. A grouping looks like a patchwork of succulent rosettes in mixed colors.
Growing it with lavender
Hens and chicks love the same lean, gravelly, sun-baked ground as lavender, so tuck them along the edge of a lavender bed, between stones or in gravel mulch for a low, sculptural contrast to the upright lavender.
Care
Grow in full sun in poor to average soil with sharp drainage, such as gravel, sandy soil, rock crevices or a shallow container; it needs very little water and rots in wet soil. Hardy in zones 3-8; a rosette that flowers will die afterward, so pull it out and let the surrounding chicks fill the gap, and replant extra chicks anywhere.
At a glance
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Botanical name: Sempervivum
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Flower color: Occasional star-shaped flowers on a short stalk
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Foliage: Varies: green, blue-green, red, burgundy or bronze
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Growth habit: Low rosettes spreading by offsets
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Mature size: 3–4 in tall × 6–8 in wide
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USDA hardiness zones: 3–8
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Light: full sun
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Deer resistance: Resistant
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Pollinator value: Fair
Sizes and shipping
Dormant bare-root plant, sold in boxes of 25 per variety (order in multiples of 25). Bare-root plants ship or are picked up March 1–May 31 only. They are soil-free, so they may ship to every state in that window. Dormant plants often show little or no top growth on arrival; plant or heel them in promptly.