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05-24-2022 10:20 AM
I'm redoing my garden to incorporate more succulents and other xeriscape compatable plants. I added some hens and chicks to the front border.
Last year I had put in a beautiful H&C with a nice spiky middle "flower." This year the main "hen" is gone and there are only chicks there. Is there a way to encourage these plants to regrow the pretty mother section?
Thank you!
05-24-2022 10:43 AM
I am no expert but have fond memories of my childhood garden filled with hens and chicks. This is what I recall. A blooming hen on a hen and chicks plant is often referred to as a rooster. The individual rosettes will begin to elongate and lengthen vertically when it is time to produce flowers.
05-24-2022 11:00 AM
I'm no expert with these either but a few years ago, I found a few small pots of hens/chicks on the sale table at my grocery store--they looked pretty rough but I bought them, and put them in different pots and just let them go---hardly remembered to give them a drink, left them in the freezing weather and those things are still amongst the living---they get that long flower stalk and I have even taken the babies off and threw them on a patch of dirt and they grow just fine. You can separate them and re plant them----virtually indestructible
05-24-2022 12:04 PM
If you are a fan of succulents be sure and check over on ebay and Amazon for " assorted succulent cuttings". Last year I purchased from a few different growers and am SO happy with all my new plants. Great assortments and easy to grow. Now I have a huge garden of lovely cacti! Potted them up in all kinds of containers from teacups to olive oil cans and they look great and are fun to grow.
05-24-2022 01:53 PM
Be sure to read labels when you buy succulents. Many, most, are not hardy under freezing conditions and will not survive the winter outside. Once, Home Depot had a huge table covered with pots of a variety of succulents. I read every label and none were winter hardy.
It's possible once the mother "hen" has produced babies she automatically dies. Many plants do that. The babies will soon grow and produce flowers.
05-24-2022 01:56 PM
@silkyk Cacti and succulents are entirely different varieties of plants and are not related.
I bought some fantastic day lilies on eBay from people who were thinning their gardens. It's a great source.
05-24-2022 02:15 PM - edited 05-24-2022 02:18 PM
@Kachina624 wrote:Be sure to read labels when you buy succulents. Many, most, are not hardy under freezing conditions and will not survive the winter outside. Once, Home Depot had a huge table covered with pots of a variety of succulents. I read every label and none were winter hardy.
It's possible once the mother "hen" has produced babies she automatically dies. Many plants do that. The babies will soon grow and produce flowers.
@PilatesLover @Kachina624 is correct. Once the mother hen flowers, the chicks come and the hen dies. I have some cold hardy hens 'n chicks, but you have to make sure they are zoned for your area. Most of them are meant for warmer climates.
They do prefer being outside, though, and I don't know of any of them that do well indoors.
Edited to add: I meant that most hens 'n chicks don't do well inside. They prefer being outside but in the right climate. I have indoor succulents that do well. You need to read about them and their light and watering needs though.
05-25-2022 11:28 AM
@Kachina624 wrote:@silkyk Cacti and succulents are entirely different varieties of plants and are not related.
I bought some fantastic day lilies on eBay from people who were thinning their gardens. It's a great source.
All cacti are succulents, but not all succulents are cacti. I grow both and treat them the same and all thrive.
05-25-2022 11:28 AM
Thanks everyone!
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