Sempervivum Tectorum L.

Description

an extremely variable species, characterised by stemless rosettes 3 to 15 cm in diameter, with leaves up to 6-8 cm long, normally green at the base and reddish brown at the tip, all with dense, rigid little teeth. The flowers develop on stems up to half a metre tall and their colour varies from pinkish white to pink. The rosette from which the flowering stem develops dies after flowering, as with the Agaves.

Cultivation

excellent for the rock garden, they love very poor soils and can survive the winter even at temperatures many degrees below zero. They suffer from the summer heat of the plains, combined with high atmospheric humidity. They require no care of any kind; indeed, too much fertilising and watering can make these hardy plants grow overly large, but also weak and prone to rotting. Reproduction is normally vegetative, by cutting the numerous stolons growing next to the main rosette. The seeds, powdery in texture, are used to produce particular hybrids. Popular tradition regards them as plants that ward off lightning: for this reason, in the mountains, they were grown on the roofs of the “malghe” (shelters for livestock and for traditional cheese-making).