Sempervivum 'Tarantula'

Scientific Name

Sempervivum 'Tarantula'

Common Names

Hen and Chicks, Houseleek, Live Forever

Scientific Classification

Family: Crassulaceae
Subfamily: Sedoideae
Tribe: Sedeae
Subtribe: Sedinae
Genus: Sempervivum

Description

Sempervivum 'Tarantula' is an attractive succulent with light green hairy foliage with pink or red marking in the center of the rosette. Flowers are star-shaped, with rose-purple petals with paler margins held in flat cymes on the terminal ends of hairy, upright stems. The rosettes die after flowering but are replaced by new rosettes on lateral runners.

Hardiness

USDA hardiness zone 5a to 9b: from −20 °F (−28.9 °C) to 30 °F (−1.1 °C).

How to Grow and Care

Sempervivums are not difficult to grow, provided they are not waterlogged and killed from excess watering. They can be easily grown outdoors and in containers, and they earned the name "Houseleeks" from their tendency to root on the roofs of houses. After the mother plant flowers, it will naturally die, but the plant has likely produced many offsets that will continue to grow by this time. These are excellent for cold windows. Sempervivum earned their popular name "Hen and Chicks" from their growth habit. The mother plant, or hen, sends off numerous offsets, clustering around her base like chicks. These offsets can be easily repotted, or the plants can be left to form a clumping mat.

Repot as needed, preferably during the warm season. To repot a succulent, make sure the soil is dry before repotting, then gently remove the pot. Knock away the old soil from the roots, making sure to remove any rotted or dead roots in the process. Treat any cuts with a fungicide. Place the plant in its new pot and backfill with potting soil, spreading the roots out as you repot. Leave the plant dry for a week or so, then begin to water lightly to reduce the risk of root rot.

See more at How to Grow and Care for Sempervivum.

Parentage

This succulent is a hybrid of unknown parentage.