Chick Charms® Watermelon Ripple Hens & Chicks

Light Needs

Full Sun

(6+ Hours Direct Sun)

Mature Height

2 Inches

Mature Spread

7 - 8 Inches

Growing Zones

3 to 8

Chick Charms® Watermelon Ripple Hens & Chicks develops broad rosettes of deep red to burgundy foliage with emerald-green centers and silvery green tips. This Sempervivum can form unusually large rosettes for a hens and chicks selection, reaching roughly 7 to 8 inches across while remaining only a few inches tall. The foliage shifts with the seasons, moving through greener midsummer tones and richer red coloring as temperatures cool. The layered green and burgundy coloring is best when individual rosettes have enough open space to reach their full diameter.

This evergreen succulent is a hybrid seedling of Sempervivum 'Silverine' and produces new chicks on stolons around the mature hen. Mature rosettes may eventually send up taller stalks of pink summer flowers before completing their life cycle. The surrounding offsets continue growing after the flowering hen dies, gradually renewing the planting. Its cold tolerance and low water needs suit exposed rock gardens, sunny retaining walls, gravel beds, roof gardens, and broad shallow planters.

Chick Charms® Watermelon Ripple Hens & Chicks Care

Grow Chick Charms® Watermelon Ripple Hens & Chicks in full sun for tight rosettes and stronger red coloring, with filtered afternoon shade helpful in hot summer climates. Plant in lean, gritty, rocky, or sandy soil with exceptionally fast drainage. Soil pH can range from mildly acidic to mildly alkaline, provided water never remains around the crown.

Water newly planted rosettes about once a week during dry spring and summer weather, allowing the soil to dry between soakings. Established plants need much less irrigation, and leaves that begin to thin or lose firmness provide a useful cue that water is needed. Garden-grown plants generally require little fertilizer, since rich feeding can produce looser foliage and weaker coloration. Keep the planting comparatively dry through winter, particularly where cold rain or melting snow could collect around the rosettes.

Remove flower stalks once they have finished and clear away a spent hen after the rosette has dried completely. Chicks with their own developing roots can be separated during active growth and replanted into another well-drained location. Outdoor containers tolerate substantial winter cold, but placing them beneath an overhang in rainy climates reduces the risk of crown rot.

Chick Charms® Watermelon Ripple Hens & Chicks Spacing

Space plants about 8 to 10 inches apart so the larger rosettes have room to expand while their chicks gradually fill the gaps. A shallow 10- to 12-inch container gives one young plant enough room to develop a cluster, while wider bowls can accommodate several rosettes. Choose a frost-resistant pot with unobstructed drainage and a coarse succulent mix. Allow the mix to dry before watering each time.

Other hens & chicks make practical companions in a broad succulent bowl because they share the same preference for strong light, lean soil, and dry winter conditions while contributing different foliage forms and seasonal colors. The Chick Charms series has the best growing and boldest colored hens and chicks available! Sea thrift works well along nearby rock-garden edges, where its grassy leaves and spring flowers occupy a different height while tolerating similarly sharp drainage.

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