Is it gonna die?

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Joan Belfield, ND(Zone 4a) Jul 15, 2002

I just got this hens and chicks plant last fall, and this year it looks like it's gonna bloom already. I've read that once they bloom, they die. Is that true? I haven't had it long enough for it to die!

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Baa Jul 15, 2002

The rosette that flowers will die but the young rosettes around the main one will continue to grow until they flower and so ad infinitum!

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Joan Belfield, ND(Zone 4a) Jul 15, 2002

Thanks Baa. That's kinda what I thought.

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Baa Jul 15, 2002

My pleasure Joan.

One year I planted some Semps (Welcome Home Husband, However Drunk You Be is one of the common names here LOL) and all the rosettes flowered that year ...I was a bit miffed!

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Joan Belfield, ND(Zone 4a) Jul 15, 2002

How many years until the hens and chicks flower? Do they put out the baby ones one year and flower the next? The reason I'm wondering is that the ones around the flowering one don't appear to be making babies, and if they flower next year then I won't have anymore? Kinda like what happened to your Semps? (Love the common name! LOL)

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Baa Jul 15, 2002

They tend to flower when they reach 2-3 years old, you can practise removing the flower stem before it begins to form seeds to get the same rosette to flower again the following year (takes a while to get the timing right). When the Semps are flowering all other growth is halted which may be why you aren't seeing much happening right now.

As for what happened to my Semps .. I have no idea! It was one of those Baa moments, my plants never behave as the books say they should ;)

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lupinelover Grove City, OH(Zone 6a) Jul 18, 2002

Joan, in my few years of growing the semps (how about Jove's thunder for another nickname?) they very seldom flower, but flowering, then dying just seems to give lots more room for the babies to grow bigger. I don't know what makes them decide to flower, but my neighbor has had one for more than 20 years, no flowers, just hundreds of babies! So don't despair, they won't all flower then die. If you feel especially adventurous, try planting some of the seeds. You might get some wonderful new types from them.

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Joan Belfield, ND(Zone 4a) Jul 18, 2002

Seeds? Gee, I hadn't even thought about looking for seeds! LOL! I was too busy planning it's funeral. I'll keep an eye out for the seeds.

Thanks Kathy and Baa for the tutorial. I appreciate it.

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