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sempervivum multiplication question

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Posted by Dave_zone_5 Zone 5a/4b Wisc (My Page) on
Sun, Mar 7, 04 at 17:44

I have various sempers in a mini rock garden around my mailbox. I have roughly 20 plants, some large single rosettes, some clusters. The garden area is about 2'x3' and right now the sempers are covering roughly 20% of the area.

These were planted last summer.

I would like to have at least 75% of the area covered by the end of this year.

Will these plants multiply rapidly enough to do this or should I purchase more?

Also, are there any tricks to getting these guys to multiply? For example would tearing a cluster into pieces enocourage each piece to multiply more readily or would it be harmful?

Lastly will any of these cross pollinate and reproduce from seed naturally or is seed not usually a reliable method of reproduction for them in an outdoor relatively ignored environment?

Thanks.

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RE: sempervivum multiplication question

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Your first question is impossible to answer because different Semp. varieties grow at different speeds. Some have large rosettes and some small. One plant may only grow a single extra rosette in a year and another may increase in size by 10 times. The best way to help the plant to increase in size is to give it ideal conditions. I would prefer to leave the plant whole until the rosettes are a good size. Don't be tempted to remove them when they are too small. To answer the last question - yes Sempervivums will cross pollinate with enthusiasm but the majority of seedlings will be very uninteresting. Those who raise new plants know that you have to grow a lot of seedlings to find a new plant that's special enough to keep. When there are so many quality named plants available it would be a pity to end up with a display of mediocre plants. I think that the space around the plants is important. A few really good ones in a gravel bed can look better than a lot crammed in together. You can then see the special personality of each plant. I'd be tempted to leave the plants as they are because I imagine that quite a lot of your spare space will disappear during this next season. I hope these comments help Dave.

  
 

 

 


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