Sempervivum 'Black'

Sempervivum 'Black': Dark-Tipped Rosettes for Close-Up Drama

'Black' started out green with dark tips and decided that wasn't edgy enough. Come cool weather, the whole rosette goes black-purple like a teenager after one bad week. THE CHICKS ARE IN THEIR EMO ERA.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Sempervivum 'Black'
• Common Name: Hens and Chicks
• Height: 8–10 cm (3–4 in), taller when in flower
• Spread: 10–20 cm (4–8 in), slowly widening as offsets form
• Flowers: Starry pink flowers on a thick stalk from mature rosettes
• Bloom Time: Midsummer (July to August)
• Foliage: Evergreen succulent rosettes, green with dark purple to maroon tips that darken to black-purple in cool weather

Where to Plant: Tuck it into rock garden crevices, gaps in stone walls, gravel beds, troughs, strawberry pots and shallow containers. It's at its best somewhere you'll see it up close, beside lighter colours that make the dark tips pop.

Companion Plants: Plant 'Black' in a gravel bed or rock wall with sharp drainage, beside blue sea holly, orange coneflowers and purple pea flowers. Eryngium 'Blue Hobbit' adds compact blue sea holly at 25 to 30 cm from June to August. Echinacea KISMET® 'Intense Orange' brings orange coneflowers at 40 to 45 cm from June to October. Baptisia 'Grape Escape' adds dusky purple spikes at 105 to 120 cm in May and June. Schizachyrium 'The Blues' rises at 60 to 90 cm in powder blue.

Plant Care: Plant in full sun in very well-drained soil. Gritty, sandy or gravelly mixes are ideal. Wet feet are the main thing that kills hens and chicks, so avoid heavy clay and low spots. In pots, use a cactus mix and a container with drainage holes. Water lightly until it roots in, then only during long dry spells. No fertilizer needed. More sun means deeper colour and tighter rosettes. A rosette that flowers will die afterwards. That's normal. Pull out the spent rosette and its stalk, and the chicks will fill the gap. Separate chicks any time in the growing season to start new plants.

History: The genus name Sempervivum comes from Latin for "always living," and the wild species come from the mountains of Europe and western Asia, where for centuries people grew them on rooftops. 'Black' is a garden selection whose breeder we couldn't confirm.

Final Thoughts: Give it dry, sunny neglect and it'll thrive and keep raising the family while the deer pass. A BROOD THAT GROWS UP ON ITS OWN.