Sempervivum Chick Charms Cotton Candy

Sempervivum Cotton Candy from the Chick Charms series bears rosettes covered in a thick veil of bristles at the heart. It is a very pretty descendant of the spiderweb houseleek. It forms tightly packed rosettes with fleshy almond green leaves, the tips of which display varying shades of brick-red. This prolific variety produces many daughter rosettes, forming carpets with extraordinary patterns. Perfect in dry and sunny rockeries, ideal for beautifying arid and mineral areas, this little succulent perennial is hardy and requires no maintenance. Chick Charms houseleeks are endearing perennials, which 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 Charm series sempervivums are carefully selected hybrids from the USA, chosen for their unusual colours and ease of cultivation. They are hardy and resist root rot.

Cotton Candy 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 beautiful colonies of rosettes of different sizes, juxtaposed, reaching 5 to 6cm (2in) in height and 6cm (2in) in diameter at maturity. Over time, this houseleek can form a dense mat through its stoloniferous stems, spreading 30 to 40cm (12 to 16in) on the ground, perfectly conforming to the terrain. Resembling a small artichoke, each rosette is composed of numerous fleshy, pointed leaves, without petioles, connected to each other by a dense silky weaving, especially at the heart. The white threads, stretched between the leaves, shine in the sun. The colour changes according to the season and climatic conditions, with the tips of the leaves turning brick-coloured. 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 purple-pink.

Sempervivum Cotton Candy 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 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.