
Life cycle: Perennial, Cactus, Succulent
Light: Full sun
Zone: Hardy to Zone 3
Height: 3-4" (8-10 cm)
Space: 6-8" (15-20 cm)
Leaves: Evergreen
Flowers: Showy
Flower Time: Midsummer
Other: It may be several years before it blooms
Suitable Locations: Xeriscapic
Alpine Gardening
Uses: Provides winter interest
Groundcover
Wildlife Attractant: Bees
Butterflies
Resistances: Deer Resistant
Noted for the unique cupped form of its rounded rosettes, Sempervivum 'Pacific Blue Ice' (Hens & Chicks) is a mat-forming succulent perennial forming attractive, evergreen rosettes of thick, fleshy, icy blue-green leaves. As the weather cools, the rosette becomes flushed with rose for showy fall color. The mother rosette (Hen) spreads in all directions by horizontal stems to form offsets (chicks). Each offset will develop roots of its own and become independent of the parent plant as the connecting stolon withers. In summer, a thick flowering stalk arises from the center of the hen rosette and bears showy starry, pink flowers. Sempervivums are monocarpic: they die after flowering. However, the offsets they produce usually make up for the losses and fill the gaps left by the dead rosettes.