How to Grow and Care for Hen and Chicks Plant

Hen and chicks is one of the easiest, most low-maintenance houseplants you can grow. These hardy, low-growing desert plants get their name from the way they propagate: The large central rosette is the "hen," and the smaller offsets it puts out over time are the baby "chicks," which can easily be propagated into new plants. 

Hen and chicks is a fast-growing plant that come in many colors, from jade green to red, and are part of the stonecrop or Crassulaceae family. This category includes other familiar succulents like jade plants, echeveria, sedums, and kalanchoe. Legend has it that the Romans planted these rosette-shaped plants against walls and on roofs to prevent fires caused by lightning.

Today, you’ll often see hen and chicks pop up in doorstep planters, in yards, and along pathways. They also work well as ground cover outdoors and make a great addition to a desert landscape, terrarium, or dish garden. 

• Botanical Name: Sempervivum tectorum
• Common Name: Hen and chicks
• Plant Type: Succulent
• Mature Size: 3–6 inches high, 6–12 inches wide
• Sun Exposure: Full sun to partial shade
• Soil Type: Sand or succulent potting mix
• Soil pH: 6.6–7.5

Plant Care

Allow your hen and chicks to dry out fully between waterings. Because it's so drought-tolerant, it's nearly impossible to underwater this plant (making it an easy-to-care-for plant with a low time commitment), but your biggest risk is overwatering. If you notice the leaves have a mushy texture or are becoming transparent, that's a sign you're giving the plant too much water. If your hen and chicks plant isn't receiving enough water, the leaves will look wrinkled or feel dry and crispy. 

A mature plant will last for around six years and typically dies after flowering, which usually occurs in the summertime. The plant will shoot up a stalk from its center with small pink flowers. After the mother plant dies back, it should be removed, but the surrounding plants will survive. 

Best Growing Conditions for Hen and Chicks Plant

These desert plants do well in a variety of conditions, thriving in arid climates, cold temperatures, and rocky areas with little soil as well as they do in well-tended gardens or containers. They thrive in conditions with full sun to partial shade, which gives you some flexibility in terms of where to display them. 

Hen and chicks need very good drainage, so, while they can do well in sandy, poor soil, it must be well-draining. Use a succulent potting mix, or make your own by combining three parts regular potting mix to two parts coarse sand and one part perlite.  This plant is drought-tolerant and can go weeks without water, but if you start to notice mushy or transparent leaves, you're likely overwatering.

Despite being desert plants, hen and chicks are also very cold-hardy and can withstand temperature drops to 30 degrees, making it possible to keep them outdoors even in cold climates. Your plant will do best if you bring it outside in the summertime and back indoors for the winter when fall comes around. 

Types of Hen and Chicks Plant

There are quite a few varieties of the hen and chicks plant. Luckily, all are pretty similar in terms of care and growth patterns, but they can vary greatly in appearance. For instance, the Reinhardt variety boasts lime green leaves with pointy violet-hued tips while the Tokajense variety features more rounded rosettes and is mostly green (though the inner leaves are almost entirely purple or red). Other popular varieties include blue boy hen and chick plants, which are, as the name implies, a blue-gray hue and look quite similar to an artichoke in terms of shape.

How to Propagate Hen and Chicks Plant

While hen and chicks can be grown from seed, it’s more expedient to divide or propagate offsets from a full, healthy mother plant. You’ll also need a small plant pot, succulent soil, and garden shears (or any clean, sharp blade).  Hen and chicks plant can be propagated through several methods. Here’s how:

Step 1: Examine the mother plant for offsets to remove. If possible, gently remove the plant from its pot, and examine beneath the soil line to identify offsets that have already grown some of their own roots. You can also skip this and simply choose a healthy-looking offset at the outer edge of the container. 

Step 2: For an offset with roots already established, simply pull it gently from the mother plant. For an offset without roots, use your shears to remove the offset, cutting the stem as close to the mother plant as possible without damaging it. 

Step 3: Plant offsets with their roots already established in a small container with succulent soil. For an offset without roots, allow the cutting to dry out for a few days, and then lay it on the surface of a small container filled with dry succulent soil.

Step 4: When you see roots growing, you can plant the offset in the pot. 

Step 5: Place newly planted offsets in a warm place with bright, indirect light, and care for them as usual. 

Common Growing Problems

The most common issue with hen and chicks plants is overwatering, which can result in drowning your plant. If you've overwatered, skip the next scheduled watering session, and just let your plant dry out naturally. Luckily, these plants are pretty resistant to pests because the leaves are so tough.

FAQs

Are hen and chicks plant easy to care for?

Yes, this drought-resistant plant requires little water and a low time commitment.

How fast does hen and chicks plant grow?

This fast-growing plant grows 3 to 4 inches tall in just a couple months with a span of 6 to 18 inches.

How long can hen and chicks plant live?

Hen and chicks plant will live three years or more.