Sempervivum Chick Charms Bing Cherry

Sempervivum Bing Cherry from the Chick Charms group is part of a new series of hybrid houseleeks selected for their hardiness, ease of cultivation, and their unique and varied colours. This variety develops large rosettes, reaching up to 20cm (8in) in width, whose colour changes from dark cherry tinged with burgundy in cool weather to a vibrant orange as temperatures warm up. It is a splendid and hardy houseleek, ideal for enhancing arid and mineral areas. This perennial spreads spontaneously by producing numerous daughter rosettes, which can be taken and replanted as desired. Chick Charms houseleeks are endearing perennials that quickly inspire the desire to collect them!

All houseleeks grow spontaneously in rocky grasslands, on rocks and scree, in open and sunny locations, mainly in mountainous areas. They are hardy succulent perennial plants of the Crassulaceae family that keep their foliage even in winter. The Chick Charms houseleeks have recently been selected in the U.S.A for their originality and resistance to root rot.

Bing Berry has thick and long roots that penetrate deeply into rock crevices, ensuring a good grip on the walls while drawing water from the depths. The plant quickly forms superb colonies of rosettes of different sizes, juxtaposed, reaching 8cm (3in) in height and 20cm (8in) in diameter at maturity. Over time, this houseleek can form a dense tapestry, spreading over 40cm (16in) on the ground, perfectly following the terrain. Each pruinose rosette is composed of numerous wide and spatulate leaves with pointed tips, without petioles, equipped with short cilia along the edges, imbricated in one another. Their colour changes according to the season and climatic conditions, with a colour palette including green-grey-smoky purple, dark cherry red, burgundy, and dark orange. The flowering appears on rosettes aged 2 or 3 years, which will then disappear, having ensured the plant's perpetuity by producing many small daughter rosettes on the periphery. The fluffy flower stalks, 15 to 20cm (6 to 8in) tall, develop from June to August, formed by thick stems that bear 1 to 8 star-shaped flowers with 8 to 12 petals in shades of purplish-pink.

Bing Berry is a boon for gardens where the soil lacks depth. It thrives where few species survive and colonises abandoned spaces. If your soil is poor, rather dry, stony, rocky, or even slightly chalky, you can still enjoy this hardy perennial (which withstands temperatures below -15°C (5°F)). It requires no maintenance and promises to enliven any pile of stones, a wall, or even a green roof. Chick Charms houseleeks are very easy-to-care-for succulent plants, offering flowers and foliage in various hues that will create stunning compositions. Magnificent in their pot arrangements, especially in low terrine-type pottery, they are irreplaceable in borders, troughs, or rockeries, alongside London pride (Saxifraga umbrosa), wall bellflowers, or Lewisia cotyledon. Consider choosing companions with staggered blooms (antennaria, small sedums, delosperma) and colourful foliage (Tanacetum densum subsp. amanii, Ajania pacifica, Hertia cheirifolia), for a varied and joyful rockery.