Plant and care for houseleek

Plant and care for houseleek

Plant houseleek correctly

So that enchanting garden images with houseleek successfully take shape, plant the thick-leaf plants in a sunny location. If the soil condition does not come close to the ideal, sandy-dry conditions, add sand, fine grit (€ 12.80 on Amazon *) or expanded clay (€ 17.50 on Amazon *) to the soil. How to plant correctly:

  • Dig small pits at a distance of 10-15 cm
  • Pot houseleek, insert in the middle and fill the hole with substrate up to the lower two leaves
  • Do not add compost or other fertilizers to the excavation
  • Pour on in sips, whereby waterlogging must be avoided

also read

  • Plant houseleek on stone - that's how it works
  • Is houseleek poisonous?
  • Houseleek loves blazing sun

If houseleek has the task of staging picturesque images in the planter, the planting proceeds in a similar way. Lean cactus soil, enriched with sand and lava granules, is ideal as a substrate. (€ 10.95 at Amazon *) In addition, insert small potsherds or pebbles between the opening in the floor and the substrate so that they function as drainage.

Continue reading

Care tips

As a botanical ascetic, houseleek lives in beds and pots according to the minimal principle. If she receives the smallest possible dose of everything, the perennial will be in top form. This applies to the water and nutrient supply. The only exception is their insatiable hunger for sunlight. The individual factors of proper care therefore fit on a beer mat. That's what matters:

  • Do not fertilize houseleek
  • Only water during summer drought
  • No pruning required
  • Remove the withered flower along with the dead rosette

There are no provisions for wintering in the bed. If the stone rose thrives in the pot, place the vessel on a block of wood in front of a rain-protected south wall in winter. A cover made of bubble wrap or jute tape keeps the frost away from the root ball.

Continue reading

Which location is suitable?

In order for the stone rose to be able to perfectly stage its fireworks of colors and shapes, it requires a location in full sun. The blazing sun can also dominate here during the hot midday hours in summer without the perennial falling out. Green the rock garden, the dry stone wall, the gravel bed or the barren roof garden with houseleek, because the thick-leaf plants won't let you down here.

Continue reading

The correct planting distance

The majority of houseleek species reach a width of 10 to 20 cm, regardless of their individual height. So you are right with a planting distance of 10-15 cm to decorate an area with the beautiful rosettes. On larger areas, we recommend 20 to 30 copies per square meter.

What soil does the plant need?

The houseleek favors a dry, mineral soil. Therefore, choose a location with sandy-gravelly and well-drained soil that may be calcareous. In common, nutrient-rich soil, the stone rose will fall far short of expectations. In order for Sempervivum to exude its pithy charm in the pot garden, a poor cactus soil should be used as a substrate, optimized with sand and lava granules.

Continue reading

What is the best time to plant?

Planting time for houseleek in the container is during the entire growing season. In order to offer the graceful, distinctive perennial the best conditions for a start in life, we recommend the months of April / May and September / October as the ideal planting time. A young stone rose quickly gains a foothold in the sun-warm autumn soil in order to surprise with a blossom in the second or third year of standing.

When is the flowering time?

From June to the end of July, the white or pink inflorescence rises above the magnificent leaf rosettes. The sunnier the location, the more colorful the spectacle of the single or double flowers. Do not cut off the withered inflorescence too early, as the seed heads also look very decorative. Since the entire rosette dies at the end of the flowering period, it is removed together with the withered flower stem.

Cut houseleek correctly

At the sight of delicate stone roses, it occurs to no one to reach for scissors here. That is a good thing, because these perennials do not know how to cut their shape or maintain them. If the first and only bloom appears at the age of 2 to 3 years, trimming or re-cutting is also out of the question. At the end of the flowering period, the rosette that produced the inflorescence dies. Their remains are completely removed from the soil, whereby the neighboring shoots and secondary rosettes are not touched, as a flowering can be expected here in the following year.

Pour houseleek

With a watering can in hand, you will seldom make your way to a houseleek. The succulent ornamental plant has its own water reservoir, which it fills in during the rainy season in order to feed on it during drought. In contrast to drought, waterlogging causes considerable problems. You should therefore only water in exceptional cases when life-threatening drought prevails.

Continue reading

Fertilize houseleek properly

Fertilizer in any form affects the vitality and the beauty of the colors of houseleek. This applies to both the bed and the pot. If additional nutrients get to the stone rose, a pithy growth occurs, accompanied by false colors and rot. Sempervivum receive a sufficient quantity of nutrients in the planter if they are repotted in fresh substrate every now and then.

Overwinter

When it comes to wintering, houseleek proves once again that it is one of the most easy-care perennials. In the bed, the stone rose survives the cold season without special protective measures. Only in the bucket or balcony box do we recommend taking the following precautions so that the root ball does not freeze through:

  • Before the first frost, place the planter on a wooden block in front of the south wall of the house
  • Wrap the tub or plant box thickly with bubble wrap

Do not carry the little beauty into the house because it will not survive there. Only in the unheated, bright garage or the cold box are there any prospects of getting through the winter safely behind glass.

Continue reading

Propagate houseleek

Before a houseleek begins its final life cycle in the form of a flower, the plant has already taken care of offspring on its own. Runners and daughter rosettes thrive in the immediate vicinity, so that over the years a dense Sempervivum carpet develops in the bed and tub. These Kindel make excellent propagation material. How to do it correctly:

  • The best date for vegetative reproduction is spring
  • Separate fully developed secondary rosettes from the mother plant
  • Place in the dry, sandy soil at the new location and water lightly

For propagation, specifically use daughter rosettes that come from a mother plant that is at least two years old. These are so developed that they survive the stress of separation unscathed.

Continue reading

Houseleek in a pot

Since houseleek needs fresh air and the cold stimulus of winter for vital growth, they are unsuitable as indoor plants in pots. The perennials make up for this shortcoming by accepting almost any vessel as a home as long as it has a water outlet. The stone rose has already been seen in old shoes, into which a little earth was quickly poured. Sempervivum decorate the cottage garden in disused wash tubs. The effort required for maintenance can be counted on one hand:

  • Only pour a little when there is no rain
  • Houseleek with wet feet will inevitably die
  • Fertilizing and cutting are not required

When winter is just around the corner, place the pot on a block of wood or a styrofoam plate. Wrapped in bubble wrap, the perennial lingers in the open air, because the cold stimulus contributes significantly to vitality. When in doubt, take the pot to the unheated, bright garage or put it in the cold box until Godfather Frost has let off steam.

Is houseleek poisonous?

Houseleek has been used in a variety of ways as an ornamental, medicinal and food plant since the Middle Ages. The legendary healer and nun Hildegard von Bingen praised the wide range of effects for ailments of all kinds. The valuable ingredients heal skin irritations, relieve burns, remove warts and are even said to be effective against numbness. There can therefore be no question of a poisonous content at Sempervivum

Continue reading

What are the best houseleek planting ideas?

The frugal houseleek decorates every conceivable vessel with its magical rosettes. Go through the whole house all the way up to the attic. Visit flea markets and antique fairs. We have listed some of the most beautiful planting ideas for you here:

  • In an antique pewter teapot
  • Remove the upholstery from a chair, fill in soil and plant
  • Fill the curved side of a roof tile with substrate and insert houseleeks
  • Convert the old bundt cake pan into a planter
  • Provide a large ladle with water drain and plant a stone rose

Beautifying old leather shoes with house lice has become a classic. What is new, however, is the concrete bundt cake, in the middle of which Sempervivum can wonderfully unfold.

Continue reading

Trivia

The middle name of houseleek has been Dachshund for generations. In some regions the plant is called thunderwort or thunder herb. This title is based on the historical tradition that numerous houseleek species were said to have magical powers. Planted on the roof, the plant is said to protect the house from lightning strikes. This belief manifested itself in an order from Charlemagne that every roof should be populated with this plant. The fact is that roofs planted with rooftop were less often struck by lightning. This is less due to magic than to the fact that such roofs are not as dry and therefore not easily flammable as an unplanted roof.

Nice varieties

  • Cono: spherical rosettes whose olive-green leaves boast deep red tips; Height 5-10 cm
  • Cobweb houseleek: Covered with gossamer webs, the result is a picturesque look; Height 10 cm
  • Bronze pastel: the rosettes enchant with their changing play of colors during the year; Height 10-15 cm
  • Othello: Impressive giant houseleek with red-brown rosettes and pink flowers; Height 15-20 cm
  • Himalayan houseleek: Delighted with white flowers over spherical, evergreen rosettes; Growth height 3-5 cm
  • Emerald: A green gem among the Sempervivum for beds, buckets and stone structures; Height 15-20 cm