Helping You Become a More Successful Gardener
Plant Search
James Burghardt
Crassulaceae
Sempervivum arachnoideum
Cobweb Hens and Chicks, Cobweb Houseleek
Cobweb houseleek is a beautiful, clustering succulent with fleshy gray green leaves embellished with small web-like hairs. It consists of ground-hugging spiraled rosettes that divide and proliferate, creating colonies over time. The mother plant almost looks like a hen surrounded by her chicks, hence the common name. The tiny juvenile "chicks" are connected to the mother plant by a silky thin stems. This species is native of the mountains of southern Europe where it exists between rocky, gravelly outcrops.
In late spring to early summer older rosettes may send up a single flower stalk. Plants rarely flower, but when they do they produce branched clusters of five-petaled, rose-pink blooms. Once a rosette blooms it will die, but offsets that have not bloomed will thrive and produce their own pups in time.
This is the perfect alpine for sun-drenched, elevated rock gardens with well-drained sandy gravelly soil. Shallow soils and sites with excellent drainage are preferred and help these cold-hardy perennials withstand winter moisture. Offsets may become quite crowded in alpine rock gardens. If this happens they are easy to divide and move. Simply sever and dig any unwanted chicks and plant them elsewhere to create whole new colonies.
Sempervivums are ideal for sunny, elevated rock gardens but will not stand up to low desert summer heat. They look great in shallow stone troughs, rocky crevices or on green roofs among other drought tolerant, low-growing succulents.
8 - 5
5 - 8
A3, 2a, 2b, 3a, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24
Cactus or Succulent
Full Sun, Partial Sun
1"-3" / 2.5cm - 7.6cm
8"-12" / 20.3cm - 30.5cm
Late Spring, Early Summer
Europe
Acidic, Neutral, Alkaline
Well Drained
Loam
Pollution, Drought
Fast
Xeric/Desert, Drought Tolerant
Rosette/Stemless
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter
None
Red
Red, Green, Gray Green, Silver
Gray Green, Bronze, Silver
No
Single
Yes
Fine
Matte
Alpine, Container, Feature Plant, Groundcover, Rock Garden / Wall
© 2006-2013 Preferred Commerce. All Rights Reserved.
