Jovibarba sobolifera
Hen And Chickens Houseleek
a perennial evergreen member of the Jovibarba genus in the family Crassulaceae.
Taxonomy and growth
- Family
- Crassulaceae
- Genus
- Jovibarba
- Life cycle
- perennial
- Foliage
- evergreen
- Height
- 0.1 m
- Spread
- 0.2 m
- Flower type
- hermaphrodite
Uses
Edible uses
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Leaf rosettes and young shoots - raw[4].
- Plant part
- Leaves
Environment
- Range
- Europe to Asia.
- Habitat
- Dry sandy sites, especially in pine forests and on limestone, also on rocky river banks[4].
- Light
- full sun
- Shade tolerance
- no shade
- Water
- moderate
- Hardiness
- Zone 5+
- Soil textures
- sandy
- Soil pH
- acid, neutral, alkaline
- Drainage
- well drained
- Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil
- No
- Drought
- intolerant
Propagation
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Seed - we have no details for this species but suggest surface sowing the seed in a sunny position in a greenhouse in late winter or early spring. Do not allow the compost to become dry. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Division of offsets in the summer[3].
Cultivation
This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.
Succeeds in any sandy soil[1]. Requires a gritty well-drained soil in full sun[3]. Succeeds on a wall[2]. Plants are hardy to about -15°c[3] so long as they are in a well-drained soil. They strongly dislike winter wet[3]. Individual offsets take several years to reach flowering size but then die after flowering, though more offsets are produced[2][3]. This species does not hybridize naturally[1].
References
F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00
Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. 1990-00-00 ISBN 0-86318-386-7
Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Komarov. V. L. Flora of the USSR. Israel Program for Scientific Translation 1968-00-00