I bought this pack of sempervivum on a whim a while ago but I haven't decided what to do with them. Will they survive outdoors all year if I just plonk them in the ground? Or should they be house plants?
Most of them are hardy @Mander, although I'm no expert. @wild edges grows a lot of different varieties. I think the one on the right might be an Echeveria, which might be less hardy, but I'm not sure. I have some of the traditional 'houseleeks' and they stay outdoors here. I have them in pots, and I tip them on their edges over winter, just to make sure they don't get waterlogged, but if they have good, gritty conditions to grow in , they can manage quite well anyway.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Mine stay out all year round but if it’s persistently wet I just move them under shelter( garden bench) for the duration of the wet spell . As long as their potted up correctly with good drainage they’ll be good.
The nursery in Calver in Derbyshire has over 900 of them, all growing outside. I used to have a couple of hundred myself, before we moved. Mine grew on a big rock garden and the only trouble we had was blackbirds ripping them to shreds for some reason. Better in the ground than in pots where they can be attacked by vine weevil grubs.
That's interesting @Palustris. I do have vine weevil here unfortunately, and I don't normally have any in the ground as I don't think I'd have anywhere suitable, soil and aspect wise, although I planted one in the gravel recently, near some rocks I've added, so I'll see how it does.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Mine stay out all year round but if it’s persistently wet I just move them under shelter( garden bench) for the duration of the wet spell . As long as their potted up correctly with good drainage they’ll be good.
We do exactly the same … they go under the table on the terrace when it’s very wet or snowy. Otherwise they’re tough as old boots.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Your basic Sempervivum ( House leeks ) are hardy enough. I've always grown mine in troughs/window boxes and they flower well. The echeveria are slightly less accommodating and in difficult areas are best kept in the GH over the coldest months. Mine flower reliably outside ( SW UK ) every year but I do sometimes either give them a bit of protection or stick them in the cold GH over the worst winter. In my last house, I had sempervivum in a window box out front ( east facing ) and one regular passer by became more and more fascinated by them as the flowering stem grew taller and taller. Eventually she knocked on the door and asked what they were
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I have some of the traditional 'houseleeks' and they stay outdoors here. I have them in pots, and I tip them on their edges over winter, just to make sure they don't get waterlogged, but if they have good, gritty conditions to grow in , they can manage quite well anyway.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I saw those in Lidl but I didn't buy them as I already had most of them. All live outside
The echeveria are slightly less accommodating and in difficult areas are best kept in the GH over the coldest months. Mine flower reliably outside ( SW UK ) every year but I do sometimes either give them a bit of protection or stick them in the cold GH over the worst winter.
In my last house, I had sempervivum in a window box out front ( east facing ) and one regular passer by became more and more fascinated by them as the flowering stem grew taller and taller. Eventually she knocked on the door and asked what they were
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...