Sempervivum Chick Charms Plum Parfait

Sempervivum Plum Parfait 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 forms huge succulent rosettes, whose colour ranges from lavender-mauve to plum-violet in autumn and winter. Its pink to purplish flowering, in small stars, occurs on mature rosettes. This perennial spreads spontaneously by producing numerous daughter rosettes, which can be taken and replanted as desired. It is ideal for embellishing arid and mineral areas. It requires no maintenance, miraculously surviving in deprived environments. It only requires rainwater, even if it is rare. 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. 

Plum Parfait 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 8 to 10cm (3 to 4in) in height and 12cm (5in) in diameter at maturity. Over time, it can form a dense carpet through its stoloniferous stems, spreading over 30cm (12in) on the ground, perfectly adapting to the terrain. Each pruinose rosette is composed of numerous spatulate leaves with pointed ends, without petioles, imbricated with each other. Their colour changes according to the season and climatic conditions. In spring and summer, the young leaves are rather mauve with lavender highlights. With the cold and decrease in sunlight, they gradually take on shades of plum, purple, and violet that brighten up the gloomy days of winter. Flowering occurs on rosettes aged 2 or 3 years, which will then disappear, having ensured the plant's perpetuity through the production of numerous 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 pink-purple.

Plum Parfait 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.