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Crassulaceae FAMILY

Sempervivum caucasicum

Sempervivum caucasicum

Edibility
1/5
Medicinal
0/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Perennial
Growth—

Prefers a well-drained gritty soil in full sun[1]. Succeeds in any sandy soil[2], doing well in very little soil in rock crevices, walls, paths etc so long as there is sufficient humus[1]. Established plants are drought tolerant[1]. Dislikes winter wet[1]. Hardy to about -15°c[1]. Individual rosettes die after flowering, but produce a number of offsets that continue to grow[3]. This species is closely related to S. tectorum[2].

Propagation

Seed - surface sow early spring in a cold frame. It usually germinates in 2 - 6 weeks at 10°c. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in the summer if they have made sufficient growth, otherwise grow them on for a further year in pots before planting them out[PFAF]. Division of offsets in spring or early summer. Larger divisions can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. We have found it best to pot up the smaller divisions and grow them on in a lightly shaded position in a cold frame, planting them out once they are well established in the summer. Plants can also be divided in September but these divisions should be overwintered in a greenhouse. Stem cuttings. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Sempervivum+caucasicum>

Pollinators

Insects

References

  1. [1]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  2. [2]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  3. [3]The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers — Brickell. C. · Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. · 1990 · ISBN 0-86318-386-7 ↩︎Excellent range of photographs, some cultivation details but very little information on plant uses.
  4. [4]Flora of the USSR. — Komarov. V. L. · Israel Program for Scientific Translation · 1968 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org · ISBN - ↩︎An immense (25 or more large volumes) and not yet completed translation of the Russian flora. Full of information on plant uses and habitats but heavy going for casual readers. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
  5. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎