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I have a Sempervivum nevadense (I think) outside in a 7 inch dia.pot growing in multi purpose compost( no grit) . It is growing well and looks healthy with lots of off shoots.Do I need to do anything to make it flower ? Any advice appreciated as I am a complete novice.
On plant
Sempervivum
- 31 Jul, 2010
Answers
'Nevadense' in a plant name generally idicates that it originates from the Nevada desert region and so is subject to hot, dry spells. Agree with Fractal, above. When you repot it you might want to weaken the compost with the addition of 50% grit, I think that the plant would appreciate it.
31 Jul, 2010
Nevadense means it originated in the Nevada area of Spain, rather than the Nevada Desert in the USA.
Some of my Semps have been around for 14 years and not flowered. They are usually grown for the colour of the rosettes rather than the flowers.
As a point of interest, never buy a Sempervivum with just one rosette, if it flowers without producing offsets then you have lost it.
31 Jul, 2010
Yes, you are right, Owdboggy, though Sierra Nevada climate is not too dissimilar to Nevada desert, USA being very hot and dry in summer.
31 Jul, 2010
Maybe I should try it! S. tectorum and S. arachnoideum keep conking out on me in the summer!
31 Jul, 2010
Previous question
Sempervivum have a cyclic life. The parent rosette will flower after a given amount of time generally so just let it grow on. When it does flower, it will die but will either already have produced daughter offsets or will have started just before the flower stalk formed and emerges.
One thing, let it dry out periodically as they hate being wet all the time. Pardons if you already know this.
31 Jul, 2010