Friday, June 27, 2014

Sempervivum 'Red Rubin' is my favorite plant in the garden; this week…

Well at least I think it's S. ‘Red Rubin’…I am rather bad at keeping track of my sempervivum.

But see they're doing this crazy thing where they've moved down between the cement blocks next to our driveway. I did not plant these here!

In fact I've been scheming (for a couple of years, where does time go?) to get rid of those blocks and do something like this, only with galvanized pipe (photo courtesy of Floradora Gardens)...

But these just look so darn good I might have to leave them.

There are also some common green "houseleeks"...

Which have moved down between the blocks.

These plants are so carefree, what's not to love?

This river has develeoped mostly on it's own, after I planted a few years ago...

The stats for Sempervivum 'Red Rubin' (which are pretty much the same for all the semps)...
  • succulent, hardy in USDA Zones 4-9
  • drought tolerant and happy in sun to part sun conditions
  • wants good drainage
  • blooms pink (as do most sempervivum)
  • the mother plant dies after blooming but usually is surrounded by baby plants (the chicks in "hens and chicks, it's common name) which live on and fill in the gap
  • slow spreader to 4-6" tall, 12" wide

In case you're feeling a little "Déjà vu-y" I have posted about my love for this group of plants in the past: here when it was an earlier fav, and here when I shared a wonderful book I discovered called "Plant Jewels of the High Country." So now it's your turn! What's caught your eye in your garden this week?

For you locals here's a little info about another exciting garden tour happening tomorrow, Saturday June 28th. It's a joint effort of the HPSO and the Garden Conservancy program. Six gardens in North and NE Portland (seems we're the hot-spot for garden tours!) under the theme "Within the City Limits: Minimum Space - Maximum Results"...a list of gardens, driving directions, and other details (like how to get tickets - each garden requires a ticket which are $5 ea) can be found on the HPSO website. Oh the riches we have here in Portland...

All material © 2009-2014 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.

35 comments:

  1. I adore hens and chicks! Your river looks great, I love how they increase so easily, so carefree. I took a bit of a liberty with the meme this week. You can find my favorite plant post here: http://bonneylassie.blogspot.com/2014/06/my-favorite-plant-in-garden-this-week.html

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    1. The only thing I don't like about them is when you buy a nice big one with no offsets, plant it, and a week later it starts to bloom. Money wasted!

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    2. Cut off some chicks and use them!

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  2. My semps never look this good -- I think it's the heat or humidity. Certainly can't take full sun here. It's also the deer that chomp in when things are finally going well...

    You can't replace that wall now! Just beautiful!

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  3. I grow Sempervivum in pots but my soil is too heavy and our winters (summers as well sometimes) too wet to put them in the ground, sigh!

    Yours look very happy indeed and I love the way that there is almost controlled randomnesd to the way that they spread.

    As for what is looking good in my garden this week I don't know because we are still on holiday :cheesygrin: I must admit though I am looking forward to going home and seeing what has changed since I have been away.

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    1. I've heard of people having issues with them in our wet clay soil here in Portland but (thankfully) I've not had any problems. Hope your garden surprises you with lush growth and no weeds in sight!

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  4. They did that on their own?! I've imagined having Sempervivum grow in the crevices within the stacked wall below my Ceanothus hedge but I wasn't sure how I could make that happen, I guess I'll plant some around the edges of the Aeonium and cross my fingers. My plant of the week doesn't have that kind of tenacity but it's pretty: http://krispgarden.blogspot.com/2014/06/my-favorite-plant-this-week-anagallis.html

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    1. Yep! I think originally one or two fell down there and I left them to see what happened. Wish I would have paid more attention so I knew how long it took. So they are happy in your SoCal climate?

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  5. That's very encouraging. Just a few weeks ago I planted a Semp in the face of a vertical stone wall, as a bit of an experiment. It gets no water apart from rain and up until a day or two ago there wasn't much of that. It's exploded into growth. I'll be getting more now.

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  6. I keep buying new ones, but they all wind up looking pretty much the same after a while. They're even more carefree once you stop trying to keep track of their names.

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    1. Ha! You're right (about the names)...I even keep the labels but I don't know why I bother.

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  7. What Alan said. Sempervivums seriously hate the heat. I have one small clump left and it looks baaaaaad because of the sun and heat. Yours are perfect. I'm jealous!

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    1. Ya when my brother moved to Phoenix (from Spokane) he took a big bowl of sempervivum with him, they died pretty much instantly. It's a succulent the rest of us get to enjoy!

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  8. Those are amazing and something special we cannot grow due to the summer heat. I like your river of succulents.

    I selected Salvia 'Amistad'...this week

    http://rockoakdeer.blogspot.com/2014/06/my-favorite-plant-in-garden-this-week.html

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    1. I do have a few planted on the lower part of our front slope. They get very little water once the faucet in the sky turns off in July, and bake in the heat from the sidewalk and gravel. You can imagine they aren't looking very good come August.

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  9. They are lovely...and must have seen that the blocks needed a splash of color! Love smart plants!

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    1. I see a whole new marketing campaign ahead!

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  10. So easy, so undemanding, what's not to love? Although seeing other comments I didn't know that they do well in hot places. They do well here even in sunny areas, but then again it doesn't really get that warm here.

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    1. It's true, they melt in the heat. I can't feel too bad for those folks though, after all the heat means they can grow other succulents successfully.

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  11. Aarrghh they look so good!! That 'river' is really effective. Very pretty in bloom too.

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    1. Thanks Amy, their blooms are definitely polarizing. You either love'm or hate'm...

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  12. They do look very happy in that spot! Wow, you have a great collection of Sempervivums! The ones I started in pots last year aren't doing so well, but I think I need to find a spot for them in the ground, or maybe I'll bring them inside for the winter, if I keep trying to grow them in pots. Great plants!

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    1. They do like to stay on the dry side overwinter in containers, maybe under the eaves of your house?

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  13. Oh, and my favourite: http://crmbsgrdn.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/my-favourite-plant-in-garden-this-week_28.html

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    1. I know I'm going to be jealous, whatever it is...

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  14. Sempervivums are one of my favorite plants ever!!! They look so good and need no care.

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  15. They are great fillers in location where the summer heat is not too bad. Yours in those gaps look perfect. I have quite a few forms now and am about to plant up the next section in the rockery with them.

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    1. I am really enjoying watching your project take shape Spiky O!

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  16. These are great plants and it's way cool that they Sid that on their own!

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  17. I love semps, too, but have to plant them in containers or they'd rot in our clay soil. I have a few growing in a bed of woolly thyme that are getting ready to flower. With their tall stalks and all the green froth, they look like sea monsters. I quite like it.

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    1. What a great visual you've described, sea monsters indeed.

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