Sempervivum tectorum
common houseleek
Common names: roof houseleek
At a glance
- Light
- Full sun
- Pot size
- from 2 l
- Lifespan
- Perennial
- Flowering
- Jun–Aug
- Hardiness
- Hardy
- Origin
- Native to Germany
Photo: CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source
This description was machine-translated.
Description
The common houseleek forms dense rosettes of fleshy, water-storing leaves and spreads through offsets into small cushions. It was originally settled on roofs and walls because it tolerates drought and heat with ease. In folk belief and traditional herbal lore, the leaf sap was used as a household remedy for the skin, though there is hardly any scientifically reliable evidence of its effectiveness. In midsummer it sends up star-shaped, pink to purple flowers on sturdy stalks. The flowering rosette dies afterwards, while neighboring rosettes continue to grow.
Care instructions
The common houseleek needs a sunny, warm spot and a free-draining, rather lean substrate, for example a mix of garden soil, sand and fine gravel. It tolerates waterlogging poorly, so water rarely and sparingly, and let rainwater drain freely in the rock garden or pot. It needs no winter protection, as it is hardy down to well below freezing, but keep it safe from prolonged wetness. Remove spent rosettes, and the gap will fill in by itself with new offsets. To propagate, separate small offset rosettes in spring or early summer, around mid-May (calendar week 20), and plant them in a new spot.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
FloweringJun–Aug
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
well-drained, lean, sandy, dry
Houseleek likes it lean and free-draining, preferably in a poor mix of sand, gravel and a little soil. It does not tolerate waterlogging at all; the roots then rot quickly. A sunny spot on wall tops, roofs or in a rock garden with a stony base suits it perfectly.
Feeding
Light feeder
Houseleek needs practically no feeding; soil that is too rich in nutrients makes the rosettes soft and prone to rot. If anything, a very thin dressing of mature compost at the edge of the planting is enough in spring. More important to it than nutrients are warmth, light and dry feet.
Overwintering
Houseleek is hardy to well below minus 15 degrees and needs no winter protection. The only important thing is that rain and meltwater drain away well, because wet cold harms it more than frost. In pots, a sheltered spot outdoors is enough; it does not tolerate a warm winter place.
Propagation
Methods
- Offsets
- From seed
The easiest way to propagate houseleek is by the daughter rosettes that the mother plant forms on short runners. Carefully detach them with a few little roots of their own and plant them straight away in a new, sunny and free-draining spot. Sowing is also possible, but it takes much longer to reach a finished rosette. After moving, water only moderately for the first few weeks, until the young plant has established.
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