Hens And Chicks Varieties | 14 Most Popular Varieties |

Hens and chicks plant belong to the sempervivum plant group. They usually grow well both indoors and outdoors, be it cool or hot temperatures. Interestingly, you could find several Hens and chicks varieties in the nature.

Hens And Chicks Varieties

Why do they call hens and chicks?

They have inherited the name, hens and chicks due to their rosette shape and due to their ability to produce so many baby plants.

If you consider a place to grow hens and chicks, a rockery or dry location would suit them the best. 

Hens and chicks’ colors

Sempervivum 1

Usually, hens and chicks come up in several colors at one time. Further the plants also usually change the colors depending on the season and on the sunlight levels.

Strawberry kiwi – This is one of the most common varieties of hens and chicks. They have kiwi green in the center and strawberry red along the tips. Someone would even prefer to eat them by the looks of it though it is not recommended.

Chocolate kiss – they would tend to look almost like chocolate cake. Further they would form rosettes which you could spot in either dark brown or in burgundy colors. Further they would be about 12 inches in diameter.

Gold Nugget – They are bright orange in color. This is the very first sempervivum which has a gold foliage.

Watermelon ripple – They are completely contrary to the sempervivum colors in general. In fact you could spot them forming a deep red burgundy color closer to the rosette center along with light green edges.

Cherry berries – Their base would be green, and the rosette’s ends would be intense red and gold in color once they get more exposure from sunlight.

Hens and chicks varieties 

Sempervivum tectorum ‘Boissieri’

Hens And Chicks Varieties

Boissieri succulents grow in a mat forming manner. It would form pointed rosettes along with chubby leaves. They will have bristly margins and would be covered with hairs.

The Leaf color would be bronze green and they would further consist with red tips . They would produce star shaped red and purple flowers.

They would grow in USDA hardiness zones 3-8. They originate from northern America and from Europe. These plants would greatly fit in for window boxes.

Sempervivum tectorum ‘Oddity’

Hens And Chicks Varieties

This is a weird and wild type of hens and chicks. Their succulents’ leaves would be tubular shaped. Further they would consist of red tips.

They are quite popular houseplants which many people like to grow. They produce clumps of fleshy leaves.

Moreover they form small new plants which would form around the mother plant. Their leaves color would be green and you may spot them curl into tubes.

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One of the American succulent enthusiasts had developed these plants. Their preferred USDA hardiness zones would be 2-9.

Sempervivum Arachnoideum ‘Cobweb houseleek’

Hens And Chicks Varieties

This is a quite famous outdoor plant, and it is covered with a white hairy cobweb like substance. That is an interesting feature they have.

Cobweb houseleek is a low growing rosette type plant. You could spot their web usually stretching from leaf tip to mass which is in the center.

Their leaves would be tinted red or green in color. They would be handy in using for succulents’ walls, rock gardens.

The exposure of full sunlight and to cold temperature will make them purple, brown in color. Their preferred USDA hardiness zones are 5a-8b. They are endemic plants in the mountains of Europe.

Sempervivum ‘Strawberry Kiwi’

Hens And Chicks Varieties

This is a garden plant which has a historic value. They form rosettes in red along with green or yellow margins.

They have watermarks or some wavy waxy lines which could defend them from direct sunlight. You could spot them flowering in summer and in fall.

Their preferred growing zones would be USDA hardiness zones 4-9. They form rosettes in green along with burgundy margins.

They would consist of larger rosettes along with some small rosettes. They would be great fits for rock gardens, wall plantings and for borders as well.

Sempervivum ‘Chocolate Kiss’

Hens And Chicks Varieties

Chocolate kisses come with a large Rosset which tends to take a deep burgundy, brown color. They are usually grown in rock gardens.

Further you can add them for wall plantings and for ground covers as well. They would prefer to grow in USDA zones 4-9. They form one large rosette and some smaller rosettes.

This would be very handy if someone wishes to start gardening as they are quite easy to grow. They are native in Europe and in Africa. These are fleshy and evergreen sets of plants. 

Sempervivum ’Gold Nugget’

Hens And Chicks Varieties

Gold nuggets form rosettes in bright gold color. Further they will consist of red picotee edges as well.

During summer, they would turn to bright lime green in color before they become gold and red in fall. They would be great picks for rock gardens, borders and for containers as well.

Their preferred zones would be 3-9. They are evergreen plants. You could spot them in the flowering summer in fall. They are also native plants in Africa and in Europe.

Sempervivum ‘Watermelon Ripple’

Hens And Chicks Varieties

Watermelon ripple could withstand drought conditions. They would consist of leaves in dark red or burgundy .

They would further have green tips and a green center. You could use them for rock gardens, garden planters etc.

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They would prefer to grow in USDA zones 3-9. This is known as the best growing plant and the best colored hens and chicks colored plant variety.

They would form a red colored rosette along with bright green edges. They would be great plants for someone who lives in colder weather conditions since they could withstand the frost conditions.

Sempervivum ‘Cherry Berry’

Hens And Chicks Varieties

Cherry berries would produce a large rosette which would be red in color. They would also be quite handy in using for wall plantings, patio planters etc.

They are also an evergreen plants which would prefer to grow in USDA zones 4-9. These are also some historic sets of plants which consist of succulent foliage.

Their rosettes are rapid growing, and they tend to turn to attractive cherry red from green when they get adequate sunlight.

Sempervivum ‘Cotton Candy rosettes’

Hens And Chicks Varieties

These are unique looking plants, and their leaves would be green in color along with burgundy margins.

However, the highlight of these plants is their cobweb looking centers. They would form rosettes in tidy clumps. Ideally you could grow them adjoining to dark red colored plants.

Their rosettes would be fragile and green in color. They would produce flowers in pink and further they would resemble stars as well.

Their preferred USDA hardiness zones are 3-8. These are also frost hardy plants.

Sempervivum ‘Mint Marvel’

Hens And Chicks Varieties

Mint marvels form a large rosette in blue green along with burgundy wine-colored tips. You could consider growing them in rock gardens, borders and as ground covers as well.

Their leaves would be mint green in color. They would prefer to grow in USDA zones 4-9. They could vigorously withstand the frost weather conditions.

They could produce so many offsets on short stolons. They would produce flowers with a pink shade.

Sempervivum ‘Appletini’

Hens And Chicks Varieties

This is a bi colored rosette which usually forms with green leaves along with burgundy edges. They would be great picks for patio containers.

Their preferred growing zones are 4-9. Appletini are perennial plants. They also comprise one large rosette and small rosettes You could remove those small rosettes and try to make new plants.

These are also hardy set of plants. These plants usually form leaves in green and in a pointed manner. Their colors would intensify when they get stronger exposure to sunlight. 

Sempervivum ‘Cosmic Candy’

Hens And Chicks Varieties

Cosmic candy produces rosettes in rich red color during spring to summer. Further they would comprise a center which has a substance like a cobweb too.

These plants would also be perfect additions for rock gardens, wall plantings. Their preferred USDA zones would be 4-9.

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They would produce flowers in pink, and it is an evergreen succulent. Further cosmic candy plants would take a fuzzy texture as well. Their colorful leaves of rosettes are the most striking factor of these plants.

Sempervivum ‘Cinnamon Starburst’

Hens And Chicks Varieties

Cinnamon starburst is unique in color. When they mature, you could spot the outward leaves of the rosette to take a deep cinnamon red in color.

You could consider adding them as ornamental plants for your desks or even you could grow them in patio containers as well.

Alternatively, you could add them for tabletop planters too. Their preferred USDA zones would be 3-8. They tend to grow in an upright manner.

Sempervivum ‘Sugar Shimmer’

Sempervivum ‘Sugar Shimmer 1 1

Sugar shimmer would add so much grace to your garden. Sugar shimmer would produce a large rosette in silver color.

Further they would comprise little hairs as well. if the plant is growing in warmer temperatures, they would be blue green in color along with an overlay of light silver.

Sugar shimmers would prefer to grow in USDA zones 4-9. They are low growing rosette making sets of plants along with leaves which are densely packed.

Related questions

What type of succulents are hens and chicks?

Plants of the Sempervivum group are known as hens and chicks. These are hardy sets of plants as they could thrive in both cold and hot temperatures.

Moreover, they could thrive in low lighting levels to strong lighting conditions too. They have a close relationship with echeveria, kalanchoe and crassula.

Do hens and chicks come in different colors?

They would come in colors such as Blue/Green Purple/Burgundy Chartreuse/Gold etc.

How fast do hens and chicks spread?

During the growing season, they would usually rapidly spread by underground roots. further chances are that each hen and chick plant could multiply itself by at least four.

They do it by producing little offsets around the hen. If you wish you could take them off and replant them anywhere as you desire.

Do hens and chicks need sun or shade?

They would love to thrive in full sunlight. Having said that they would also thrive well in partial shade too.

Conclusion

So, I hope this article was useful for you and you could improve your knowledge on the hens and chicks varieties.

I am sure this article would help you to decide on which hens and chicks variety you would wish to grow. So why wait? Go grab a sempervivum plant and start growing it ! 

Credit to: Succulents and Sunshine
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About author

I’m Dr. Chamika, As a hobby love talking about plants and showing you that taking care of indoor plants. My website is knowledge I’ve learned over the years and continue to learn about growing succulents. If you’re a succulent lover, then you have come to the correct place.