Houseleek
Plant in gritty, free-draining compost from the start and avoid watering unless the compost is fully dry — fails far more often from overwatering than neglect.
Care
Full sun.
Highly drought-tolerant; dislikes winter wet far more than cold.
Very free-draining, gritty, poor soil; excellent in shallow pans, troughs, rockeries and green roofs.
No routine pruning; remove spent flower rosettes after they die back (each rosette flowers once then dies, producing offsets — 'chicks' — around it).
Never feed. These live on rock and roof tiles; fertiliser makes them soft, green and loose, losing exactly the tight red-tinged rosette they are grown for.
Pull off the offsets — the little rosettes on runners round the parent — and press them onto gritty compost. Most have already made roots before you detach them, so they establish immediately, and the parent rosette dies after flowering anyway.
Month by month
Months change with the climate: in southern Italy tomatoes go out two months earlier than in England.
- MarchTop-dress with grit if compost has become compacted. how ›
- JuneRemove any flowered (dying) rosettes to make room for offsets. how ›
- SeptemberSeparate and replant offsets to fill gaps or start new pots.
Months based on climate: UK. Your choice stays on this device.
- MarchTop-dress with grit if compost has become compacted. how ›
- JuneRemove any flowered (dying) rosettes to make room for offsets. how ›
- SeptemberSeparate and replant offsets to fill gaps or start new pots.
Months based on climate: Northern Italy. Your choice stays on this device.
Common problems
How to spot it. Mushy, collapsing rosettes.
What to do. Ensure sharp drainage; avoid saucers that trap water under pots — the main risk for this otherwise tough genus.
Popular varieties
Questions
Houseleek: is it hardy?
H7: Fully hardy anywhere in the UK. It survives below −20 °C.
Can it grow in a pot?
One of the best genera for shallow pots, troughs and green roofs, precisely because it tolerates minimal soil volume.
Houseleek: when do you prune it?
No routine pruning; remove spent flower rosettes after they die back (each rosette flowers once then dies, producing offsets — 'chicks' — around it).
Houseleek: when does it flower?
In the climate of UK it flowers in June–July.
When do you feed it?
Never feed. These live on rock and roof tiles; fertiliser makes them soft, green and loose, losing exactly the tight red-tinged rosette they are grown for.