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Killer Hen and Chicks - Bare Root Plant

$12.75
$12.75 $23.60
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Size : Bare Root Plant
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Bare root arrives dormant

Expect new growth in about 6 weeks after planting. Until then it can look lifeless, so you won’t be able to tell within 24 hours of arrival whether it will grow.

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About the Product

Killer forms large, perfectly symmetrical rosettes about 5 inches across, with maroon centers shading out to green tips. It is one of the bolder hens and chicks for size and color.

The large hen gradually surrounds itself with chicks that can be lifted and replanted any time. It shines in stone walls, walkway cracks, rock gardens and containers, and it asks for almost nothing beyond sun and drainage.

What it looks like

Large, symmetrical rosettes about 5 inches across of thick, pointed, fleshy leaves; the inner leaves and base of each leaf are deep maroon, fading outward to fresh green tips. Smaller offset rosettes cluster around the main one. Occasionally a rosette sends up a thick stalk with small pink star-shaped flowers. The plant is 4 to 6 inches tall and 6 to 8 inches wide. A cluster looks like maroon-hearted green rosettes set in stone.

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

  • Botanical name: Sempervivum
  • Flower color: Pink star-shaped flowers on occasional stalks
  • Foliage: Maroon centers fading to green tips
  • Growth habit: Low rosettes spreading by offsets
  • Mature size: 4–6 in tall × 6–8 in wide
  • USDA hardiness zones: 3–8
  • Light: full sun
  • Deer resistance: Resistant
  • 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.

View Product Details
Mature height
6.0 in
Mature spread
8.0 in
Fragrance
None
Deer
Resistant

Lavender companion · grow guide

How to grow Killer

Hens and Chicks · Sempervivum

Hens and chicks need full sun and sharp drainage. They thrive on neglect: poor soil, little water, and no fertilizer.

Check my zone & planting dates
Killer
  • Full sunLight
  • Low waterFast drainage
  • pH 6.0–8.0Soil
  • Zones 3a–8bHardiness
  • 6″ tall8″ wide
  • ResistantDeer · rabbits some resistance
  • Not known toxicPets
Huckleberry, the farm dog

Huckleberry saysTell me where you grow and I’ll check if Killer will thrive there.

Hardy in zones 3a–8b

Spring through early fall.

Dormant bare-root hens and chicks (sempervivum) as it arrives, laid on burlap

When it arrives

Your bare-root plant

Expect rosettes with short, wiry roots, sometimes a bit shriveled from shipping. That's normal. Set them on gritty soil with roots tucked in, water lightly, and keep out of soaked soil while new roots form.

Expect new growth in about 6 weeks after planting. Bare root ships March–May while dormant, with little or no top growth, and it can look lifeless until then. That’s normal. Evergreen: rosettes stay visible all winter and often turn red or bronze in cold. In spring they plump up and offsets (chicks) appear on short runners.

You won’t be able to tell within 24 hours of arrival whether a dormant plant will grow.

When to plant

Spring through early fall.

How deep

Set rosettes on the soil surface with only the roots buried. Never bury the rosette; a gravel mulch keeps leaves dry.

Spacing

6-12 in apart; chicks fill gaps.

Soil

Sandy, gravelly, or rocky soil · pH 6.0–8.0

Fix-it tip: Plant in gritty soil, rock gardens, walls, or troughs. In clay, mix in at least half grit or plant on a raised mound.

Sun

Full sun (tolerates light part shade).

Sun brings out red and purple colors; shade makes rosettes stretch and turn green.

Dormant
New growth

Don’t give up on it

Is it alive? What spring looks like

Evergreen: rosettes stay visible all winter and often turn red or bronze in cold. In spring they plump up and offsets (chicks) appear on short runners.

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