Sempervivum: A Gardener’s Perspective of the Not-So-Humble Hens-and-Chicks

by Kevin C Vaughn

Sempervivum have long fascinated gardeners and are useful plants for gardening situations in which other plants might fail. Many people are aware of only a single, rather uninteresting green cultivar, but selections from the wild and the work of hybridizers have resulted in over 7,000 cultivars with a range in size from 1/2 in. to over one foot in diameter and colors from gold to black. Clearly the gardener has never had a better choice. This book covers all aspects of their history, taxonomy, culture, propagation, hybridizing, people involved in the production of Sempervivum, and a long list of cultivars that are recommended for the gardener. Color illustrations show not only the cultivars, but garden uses and cultural practices.

208 pages, Hardcover

Published May 28, 2018

Reviews

[Evie Pey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely book,

Well written with beautiful, inspiring photography. Inspired me to pursue the plants further.

[Eileen Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Semperviviums. They always add structure and interest in a garden.
I remember when I was young that there were these green plants growing on my grand parents roof and outbuildings and these were Semperviviums or House Leeks as they were sometimes called.
These plants seem to fall out of favour a few years ago, but I see when visiting Garden Centres and Nurseries there seems to be a proliferation, the cottage garden is coming back into fashion Hurray!
Recommended.
I was given a digital copy of this book by the publisher Schiffer Publications via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review.

[Leyla Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very detailed study of Sempervivum - from its history to breeder of today. There is a very large section on all the species unfortunately, I would have like a lot more photographs of the plants described., although it probably would have prohibitive as there are a lot of types and hybrids.
The information is interesting such as the fact that they are not dessert plants but have alpine origin, and there is a lot of other information on growing, propagating and care which is interesting. A very good book for people who are really into Sempervivum

[Beth Tabler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank You to Netgalley for providing me a copy in exchange for my honest review.

A very detailed and exhaustive study of sempervivums. Gorgeous pictures that make me want to go out and take my gardening one first step further, It has detailed information on the care and maintaining of sempervivums, as well as propagation and varietal information. It was an absolute joy to read because I am already nuts for these plants. I would recommend it to serious die-hard garden nerds so get out there and propagate!