Plants
Houseleek
Sempervivum · Crassulaceae
Houseleek is the toughest rosette we carry: hardy to below minus 25 degrees, content with a handful of substrate and beautiful for years without any care. Its densely packed rosettes in green, red and silver make it ideal for rock gardens, troughs, green roofs and low-maintenance grave bowls. On top of that it is completely safe for children and pets.
- Light
- Full sun; tolerates light semi-shade but colours less intensely there.
- Watering
- Minimal — rain suffices in the ground; water pots only during long dry spells.
- Care level
- Easy
- Botanical
- Sempervivum
The genus Sempervivum comprises around forty species and thousands of cultivars differing in rosette size and colouring. Best known are the common houseleek (Sempervivum tectorum) with sturdy green-red rosettes and the cobweb houseleek (Sempervivum arachnoideum), whose rosettes are covered with fine white hairs like spider silk. Many cultivars colour an intense red in winter or in full sun.
Each rosette lives to a fixed plan: it grows for a few years, then pushes up a thick flower stalk with star-shaped rosy blooms — and dies afterwards. That is not a care mistake but biology: houseleek is monocarpic. Because every plant has produced numerous offsets beforehand, the gap in the cushion closes by itself.
Its only real demand is drainage. In free-draining, mineral substrate in full sun the houseleek is practically indestructible; in wet, humus-rich potting soil it rots over winter. For bowls and troughs we therefore mix planting soil with at least half sand, grit or pumice.
In cemetery planting the houseleek is a quiet star: it lasts for years on a grave without watering, stays presentable even in winter and suits dignified designs with its calm, geometric form. It is equally unbeatable as permanent planting in shallow bowls, old roof tiles or the tops of walls.
Propagation the plant handles itself: the offsets sitting on runners can simply be twisted off and pressed into the soil elsewhere — they almost always take. A cushion grown from a single rosette can fill an entire trough within a few years.
Is Houseleek toxic to children and pets?
- Children
- Non-toxic
- Cats
- Non-toxic
- Dogs
- Non-toxic
Houseleek is non-toxic to cats, dogs and children. It is in fact an old folk remedy whose cooling leaf sap was used much like aloe vera on minor skin irritations.
Overview: toxic & non-toxic plants for cats, dogs and children
Care
- 01Choose a spot in full sun — the more sun, the more intense the rosette colouring.
- 02Use free-draining, mineral substrate; lean potting soil with sand or grit.
- 03Water only in long dry spells and occasionally when grown in pots.
- 04Do not feed — excess nutrients make the rosettes soft and prone to rot.
- 05Simply pull out dead rosettes after flowering; offsets close the gap.
- 06Winter protection is unnecessary; just avoid permanent winter wet.
Frequently asked
- Is houseleek hardy?
- Yes, extremely: as a mountain plant it tolerates frost below minus 25 degrees without any protection, even in shallow bowls and troughs. Its only enemy is standing winter wet — so always provide free-draining substrate and drainage holes.
- Why does the rosette die after flowering?
- That is completely normal: houseleek is monocarpic — each rosette flowers once in its life and then dies. Since it has produced many offsets beforehand, the cushion lives on — just pull out the withered rosette and the young plants quickly fill the spot.
- Is houseleek suitable for grave planting?
- It is one of the best plants for the purpose: hardy, presentable for years without watering, with a calm, symmetrical form. Combined with gravel or grit it makes a dignified permanent planting that looks tended even between infrequent cemetery visits.
- What is the difference between houseleek and echeveria?
- Both form similar rosettes, but houseleek is fully hardy and belongs outdoors, while echeveria comes from Mexico and tolerates no frost. For rosettes in window boxes and borders choose Sempervivum; for the windowsill, echeveria.