Stone rose (houseleek): planting, care and garden ideas

The "stone rose" is the houseleek (Sempervivum), an undemanding succulent whose rosettes resemble an open rosebud. It grows on rocks and in crevices, needs almost no watering and overwinters without cover. Here is how to plant houseleeks in the garden, how to care for them and how to use them in rock gardens and arrangements.

Succulents and houseplants are in our potted plants section.

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What the plant is

The name Sempervivum means "always alive" in Latin. The genus includes dozens of species and many cultivars with green, red, burgundy and silvery rosettes, sometimes with a cobweb-like covering. In Europe houseleeks were traditionally planted on roofs; folk belief held that they protected the house from lightning.

Echeveria is sometimes called a stone rose too. The plants look alike, but echeveria is tender and must spend the winter indoors, while the houseleek is a frost-hardy garden plant.

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Conditions and care

• Position — sunny: in shade the rosettes stretch and lose their colour.
• Soil — poor, sandy or stony, with good drainage. Rich soil and standing water are the main causes of death.
• Watering — only in prolonged drought; established plants cope well with dryness.
• Feeding is practically unnecessary.

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Planting and propagation

• Plant houseleeks in spring or summer, barely burying the rosette.
• Propagate them from offsets, the "chicks" that appear around the mother rosette. Simply detach them and plant them elsewhere.
• They can be grown from seed, but cultivars don't always come true.

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Flowering

In summer a flower stalk with starry pink, yellow or white flowers rises from the centre of a mature rosette. After flowering that rosette dies — this is the natural cycle. Remove it, and the offsets soon fill the gap.

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Ideas for the garden and home

• Rock gardens — between stones.
• Stone walls and gaps in paving and steps.
• Pots, old boots, wooden boxes and other unusual containers.
• Green roofs and arrangements with other succulents.

How to put together a succulent arrangement is covered in "DIY succulent arrangements", and other plants that don't mind the cold in "Frost-hardy plants for the garden".

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FAQ

Why is the houseleek called a stone rose?

Its rosettes look like a rosebud, and it grows on rocks and in stony soil.

Do houseleeks need winter protection?

No, they survive hard frosts; waterlogging in spring is a bigger danger.

Why did a rosette die after flowering?

That is normal: each rosette flowers once and dies, leaving offsets behind.

Author: Maria Svitlovir

Graduated from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Institute of Biology and Medicine (2001). BSc in Biology, MSc in Horticulture. Writes about plants, works at a garden centre selecting and repotting plants, and contributes to plant reference guides.

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