The open plant encyclopedia
Snap a photo or search by any name to see how to care for it, where it comes from, whether it's safe, and a 3D model you can turn.
The plants people record most in your country, and ones that grow there wild.
Filter by what you want to do, shape, origin, country, care and safety.
Sempervivum tectorum
Also called House Leek, Houseleek, Hen And Chickens, Hen And Chicks
Common houseleek is a rosette-forming succulent evergreen perennial that spreads by offsets, grown for its grey-green leaves and summer flower clusters. It is easy to grow in full sun and well-drained soil, and is widely used as groundcover in hot, dry places.
Sempervivum tectorum, the common houseleek, is a species of flowering plant in the family Crassulaceae, native to the mountains of southern Europe, cultivated in the whole of Europe for its appearance and a Roman-era tradition claiming that it protects buildings against lightning strikes.
Sempervivum tectorum is one of several houseleek species to be cultivated. It is valued as groundcover for hot, dry places. It has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
Sempervivum tectorum multiplies horizontally by propagation of underground roots. Propagation occurs in the spring, when budding occurs. From each mother plant up to four or, on good days, ten new ones can be harvested. They come off easily when taking care not to break the roots. Seed propagation works in spring.
Hen and chickens · Houseleek · Cobweb House Leek · Limestone Houseleek · Teneriffe Houseleek · Jovibarba globifera · Sempervivum pittonii · Houseleek
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Sempervivum tectorum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
