A mother "hen" and her "chicks."
Found the hen and chicks in the photo at left growing on a north-facing hillside among some rocks. I think there’s a gardener involved because there were other perennials and even a rose bush. It’s hard to tell. But they look very healthy, don’t they?
This particular variety of hen and chicks is classified as Jovibarba globifera but are sometimes called Sempervivum. The hen and chicks part comes in because the larger mother plants (the “hens”) produce the smaller plants (the “chicks”).
When a hen is about three or four years old, she’ll send up a flower stalk that’s about two feet high. The bloom is a cluster of star-shaped flower buds in colors ranging from dark pink to yellow. The flower blooms for several weeks after which the mother hen dies, her mission in life having been accomplished.
Plant hen and chicks in full sun to partial shade. They like sandy, well-drained soil and will rot if the soil is heavy and clay-like. This is a low maintenance garden gem. Plant them and forget them. Don’t divide them because they like to be crowded. In a few years when the “mother hen” blooms, remove the plant after it dies off. The “chicks” will soon be “mother hens” and produce many more chicks.
There are many varieties of hen and chicks in colors ranging from lime green to maroon-tinged. They also vary in size from as small as a centimeter up to a foot and a half across. The leaves can be thick or thin, rounded or pointed.
These evergreen ground covers grow and thrive in USDA Zones 3-11.
And they’re absolutely perfect for lazy gardeners: they thrive on neglect.
We like that.
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