Sempervivum ‘Arctic White’

Sempervivum Arctic White (Sempervivum 'Arctic White') is a hens and chicks houseleek with tight pale rosettes webbed in fine white hair. Each rosette sits about 10cm high and 30cm across, and it multiplies by pushing out offsets around the parent. It is the succulent for gardeners who get real frost, because cold is the one thing it does not mind.

Why you'll love it

• Frost hardy, unlike most succulents. It handles cold winters that mark or kill echeverias, so southern and tableland gardens can grow it outdoors.
• It multiplies itself. Offsets form around each rosette and root where they land, so one plant becomes a colony without any work from you.
• Poor soil suits it. Drought tolerant, heat tolerant and happy in thin gritty ground where most plants sulk.
• Safe around pets. Not toxic to cats or dogs, which matters for a plant grown at ground level.

Where it works best

Rockeries and gravel gardens. This is its natural home. Tuck rosettes into crevices and pockets of gritty soil where drainage is sharp and reflected heat is high.

Groundcover and edging. Plant 20cm apart for a carpet. At that spacing the offsets close the gaps within two seasons and hold a tidy low band along a path edge.

Pots, balconies and courtyards. Shallow bowls and troughs suit it better than deep pots, and a wide dish of mixed rosettes needs watering only every couple of weeks.

Growing Sempervivum Arctic White in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun, all day if possible. It belongs in cool temperate, warm temperate, Mediterranean and arid gardens, so most of southern and inland Australia suits it. Humid tropical and subtropical summers are the limit, where the crowded rosettes hold moisture and rot.

Soil. Very sharp drainage is the whole game. Use a cactus and succulent mix, or open garden soil with coarse sand and gravel, and top dress with grit rather than bark mulch.

Water and feed. Water only when the mix is dry right through, roughly fortnightly in summer and rarely in winter. Feeding is optional and usually counterproductive, since rich soil produces soft loose rosettes.

After flowering. A rosette that flowers pink then dies, which is normal for the genus and not a failure. Pull the spent rosette out and the surrounding offsets fill the gap within weeks.

What to expect when it arrives

This one is sold as tube stock, so expect a single small rosette rather than the full cluster in the photograph. That is the honest way to buy it: sempervivums establish quickly from tube and start throwing offsets in their first warm season, so a row planted at 20cm will look like a colony by the following summer.

Few plants travel better. The rosettes are firm and hold their own water, so they arrive in good order. Plants are delivered Australia wide, delivery from $29.95, and every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Plants that thrive in poor soil
• Browse the full succulent range
• Plants for rockeries and gravel gardens
• Compare other plants safe around pets

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it?

Twenty centimetres apart gives a continuous carpet in about two seasons. In a rockery, single rosettes tucked into separate crevices look better than an even grid.

Will it survive frost?

Yes. It is frost hardy and one of the few succulents genuinely suited to cold districts. Wet cold is the risk rather than cold itself, so drainage matters more than shelter.

My rosette flowered and died. Is something wrong?

No, that is how the plant works. Each rosette flowers once, sets pink blooms on a short stem, then dies back while its offsets carry on.

Can I grow it in a humid subtropical garden?

It is not the pick there. Wet humid summers sit in the tight rosettes and cause rot, so gardeners in warm humid districts should choose a succulent bred for those conditions.