Houseplant · Crassulaceae
Hen and Chicks
Sempervivum tectorum
Give it sun, grit, and almost no water, and this tough little succulent looks after itself.
Full sun
USDA 3–8
6–12 in · 15–30 cm
Overview
Hen and chicks earns its name from the way a central rosette, the hen, sits ringed by a brood of smaller offsets, the chicks. It's an alpine succulent from the mountains of Europe, and its botanical name, Sempervivum, means always living, a nod to how stubbornly it hangs on. Old roofs across Europe were once planted with it on purpose.
What makes it such an easy plant is also what trips people up. It wants poor, gritty soil and next to no water, so the usual houseplant care of regular watering and rich mix is exactly what rots it. Treat it mean and it thrives. Each rosette is monocarpic, meaning it flowers once, dies, and leaves its chicks to carry the colony forward, so the planting never really ends even as individual rosettes come and go.
Care
The short version: bright light, a fast-draining gritty mix, and water only once the soil has dried out completely. It needs very little feeding and forgives neglect far more than fussing.
Light
Give it full sun for the best color and the tightest rosettes. It will take partial sun or light shade, but too little light stretches the rosettes loose and washes out the reds and purples that make it worth growing.
Water
Water sparingly and only once the mix has dried out completely. This is an alpine succulent that stores its own moisture, so the fastest way to kill it is overwatering. Ease off hard in winter, when standing wet around the crown turns to rot.
Soil
Plant in a gritty cactus or succulent mix that drains fast and never stays soggy. It's relaxed about pH, happy anywhere from 6.0 to 8.0, and actually prefers lean, poor ground to anything rich.
Temperature
Few plants are this tough on temperature, taking anything from -40°F to 86°F (-40°C to 30°C). The cold is no threat at all. Summer heat is fine too, as long as drainage stays sharp.
Humidity
It likes things on the dry side and shrugs off low household humidity without complaint. Damp, still air is the real enemy, since it invites rot and rust on crowded rosettes.
Feeding
Feed rarely, if at all. A dilute low-nitrogen succulent feed once or twice through spring and summer is plenty, and even that is optional. This plant grows in poor soil by nature and resents being pushed.
Pruning
There's almost nothing to do here. Once a hen flowers and dies back, lift out the spent rosette and tidy away any dried outer leaves; the surrounding chicks soon close the gap on their own.
Repotting
Repot every 2 to 3 years, or sooner once the offsets crowd and spill over the pot edge. Look for roots poking through the drainage holes or the mix drying out faster than it used to, and move up to fresh gritty mix.
Size & spacing
Rosette clumps stay low, reaching 6 to 12 inches (15 to 30 cm) tall and spreading 6 to 18 inches (15 to 45 cm) wide as the chicks multiply. Give a colony room to creep and it slowly fills the space.
Troubleshooting
Almost every problem with hen and chicks comes back to one thing, which is too much water. Get the drainage and the watering right and there's little left to go wrong. Match what you see below, then act before rot spreads through the rosette.
Soft, blackening rosette that caves in at the center
This is crown and root rot, and it nearly always traces back to too much water or a mix that won't drain. Pull and toss the mushy rosettes, then hold off watering until everything dries out. Save any firm offsets and replant them in fresh gritty mix with sharp drainage.
Fix:
- Remove and discard affected rosettes
- Withhold water and let the mix dry fully
- Salvage firm healthy offsets and replant in fresh gritty mix with sharp drainage
Orange-brown raised spots dotting the leaves
This is rust, a fungus that takes hold when plants sit damp and crowded. Strip off the marked leaves and rosettes, open up the spacing so air can move, and keep water off the foliage from now on. Dividing a packed colony goes a long way toward stopping it.
Fix:
- Remove and dispose of affected leaves and rosettes
- Improve airflow and spacing
- Avoid wetting the foliage when watering
A rosette sends up a stalk, blooms, then dies back
This is the plant's monocarpic life cycle doing exactly what it should. Each hen flowers once and then dies, but it leaves a ring of chicks behind to take its place. Snip out the spent rosette and let the offsets close the gap, or lift and replant them wherever you like.
Fix:
- Remove the spent flowered rosette
- Allow surrounding offsets to fill the space
- Replant detached offsets if desired
Toxicity
Good news on this one: hen and chicks is non-toxic across the board. The ASPCA lists Sempervivum among its safe succulents, and no harmful compound is on record. You can keep it around cats, dogs, and children without worry, though it's still a plant on a shelf, not a snack.
Safe for
People · Cats · Dogs · Horses · Rabbits · Livestock · Birds
Cats None
Safe to have around cats, with no toxic compound on record. A cat that nibbles a rosette out of boredom might get a brief, mild stomach upset, but nothing more.
Dogs None
Dogs can share a space with these succulents without any worry. Wolfing down a large mouthful of any plant can loosen the stomach for a day, yet there's no poison at work here.
Horses None
No toxic principle affects horses, so a stray taste in pasture or a planter does no harm.
Rabbits None
Rabbits are fine around hen and chicks. The fleshy leaves carry nothing harmful, though it's still better treated as a houseplant than a regular green in the bowl.
Livestock None
Cattle, goats, and sheep face no risk from grazing this plant. It holds no toxin that would trouble a ruminant gut.
Birds None
Pet and backyard birds can pick at the rosettes without coming to harm, since nothing in the leaves is poisonous to them.
People None
Long grown on rooftops and windowsills, the plant poses no danger to people. There's no need to fence it off from curious children.
Varieties
Most hen and chicks differ in the color their rosettes take on through the season. A few named cultivars are worth knowing if you want a particular shade.
Sempervivum tectorum 'Rubin'
Its rosettes take on a deep ruby-red to purple flush that holds through the season.
Sempervivum tectorum 'Sunset'
The foliage warms to glowing orange-red sunset tones as it matures.
Sempervivum tectorum subsp. tectorum 'Triste'
Its rosettes carry a muted, dull reddish-brown tint rather than bright color.
How to propagate
This is one of the simplest plants to multiply, and most of the time it does the work for you by throwing out chicks. You can split a clump or sow seed too, depending on how fast you want results.
Offsets & pupsEasy
Spring to early summer · 2-4 weeks to root
Pulling offsets is the easy way and the one most growers use. From spring into early summer, twist a rooted chick off the mother rosette and press it into gritty mix, where it takes hold in about 2 to 4 weeks. Keep in mind the monocarpic habit: the hen dies after flowering, and these chicks are how the colony keeps going.
DivisionEasy
Spring · 2-4 weeks
Division suits a clump that has grown crowded. In spring, lift the whole mat and tease it apart into single rooted rosettes, then replant each one. They settle in within 2 to 4 weeks.
SeedModerate
Spring · Several months to a year
Seed is the slow road, worth it mainly if you want to raise plants in numbers. Sow in spring and be patient, since seedlings take several months to a year to amount to anything, and named cultivars rarely come true from seed.
Myths
The ASPCA Hens and Chickens listing proves Sempervivum tectorum was tested and cleared as pet-safe.
That database entry is actually Echeveria elegans, a tender Mexican succulent from a different genus. Cold-hardy Sempervivum, the true houseleek, shows up separately on the ASPCA's list of non-toxic succulents. Both turn out safe, but for different listings.
Houseleeks have to come indoors for the winter.
These are some of the toughest succulents going, rated RHS H7 and surviving well below freezing across USDA zones 3 to 8. They live outdoors year-round in cold climates. Wet, not cold, is what kills them, so the real winter job is keeping the crowns from sitting in soggy mix.
The whole plant is dying when the central rosette throws up a stalk and collapses.
Only that single rosette is on its way out. Each hen is monocarpic and dies after it flowers, but it leaves a ring of chicks behind to carry on. The colony lives on through its offsets, often looking fuller than before.