book3 600x120 7

by Janice Stenger
(Luther Michigan)

I have had hens and chicks for many years they are beautiful and very easy to grow. My question is the tall ones (8 to 10 inches) tall that grows out of them, it always seems to fall over and die. Should I pull it out of there and plant the top part? They are I think called the rooster but not sure. Your help would be wonderful – I love these plants.
Thank you in advance,

Janice

Hi Janice, I’ve never heard this called a rooster, but that makes perfect sense. This growth is actually a flowering stem – the bad news is that as these plants are ‘monocarpic’ or once flowering, that rosette now dies and hopefully has left some chicks behind before flowering.

The only thing you can do is cut the flower stalk off – this won’t prevent it from flowering, but it will prevent it from falling over, and also give the chicks more time to fill in the gap.

Planting it won’t help, but I have taken the flower after the bees have visited, and retrieved the seeds from it – they produce a lot of seed! Put them upside down in a paper bag to dry over the winter months, and plant in early spring to get more baby plants.

Hope this helps!
Jacki