The Mountain Houseleek Plant ‘Sempervivum Montanum’

This compact succulent has hairy green leaves, which form dense succulents. It is endemic to the mountainous regions in Southern and central Europe, extending from the Carpathian mountains to the Pyrenees.

Family:	Crassulaceae
Genus:	Sempervivum
Scientific Name:	Sempervivum montanum
Other Names:	Sempervivum heterophyllum, Sempervivum tectorum.
Growth Season:	Spring and summer
Preferred Temperature:	Its preferred growing temperature is 18-21oC (65-70oF). Unlike many others in the genus, it is pretty cold and hardy. It can survive winters as low as -34.4oC (-30oF).
Hardiness Zone:	USDA Zone 4a – 10b
Average Mature Height & Width:	It rises to about ten centimeters and spreads one foot wide.
Dormancy:	It goes dormant in icy winters
Toxicity:	It may be mildly toxic to pets and humans when ingested.

Sempervivum Montanum Physical Characteristics

This succulent forms rosettes that are densely packed with leaves. The leaves are green and covered with short hairs on their surface. The dense hairs give the plant a velvety feel. Its leaves are lanceolate, and they are thick and fleshy. It blooms at the beginning of summer, producing reddish-purple flowers that grow on a leafy inflorescence that averages 20 cm high.  

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Sempervivum Montanum Care

It is a typical succulent that doesn’t require much water to grow or survive. Water it during spring and summer but refrain from watering it in winter since the plant is usually dormant.

In summer, when the sun is hot, ensure the soil is consistently moist. However, it shouldn’t get soaked. Soaked pottage makes the plant susceptible to root rot. The balance between keeping your substrate moist and protecting it from waterlogging depends on the type of pottage you use. A substrate rich in gravel ensures that most of the water passes through, leaving only moisture on the soil.

If growing it in a pot, ensure it has sufficient drainage holes to allow the water to pass through after giving the plant a drink. An unglazed terracotta pot is ideal as it is breathable allowing the roots to get enough oxygen. The pores on the surface of the unglazed pot allow faster evaporation of any extra moisture in the pottage.

It will give you the best results if you expose it direct morning sun and shield it from the scorching afternoon sun. You can feed the succulent some potassium and phosphorus-rich fertilizer once during the growing season. Too much nitrogen can cause the leaves to get soggy. Also, a liquid, slow-release fertilizer is the best for feeding this succulent. 

DO YOU KNOW? Caring (propagating, pruning/trimming, beheading, watering, …) is a set of skills that is applicable to almost every succulent. Read the in-depth succulent care guide right here >>

Richard from Succulent City

Sempervivum Montanum Growth

It is a prolific off-setter, and you can get your pups from the base of this plant for propagation. Plant these offsets as for daughter plants. Also, you can propagate by seed if any have grown to maturity in plants in your garden.

Pruning is not necessary for this plant’s general well-being. You want to keep the leaves as intact as possible to keep the rosettes in their pristine beauty. Repotting is only done when the subject plant has outgrown the pot or if the pottage has been depleted of nutrients or gravel.

Mealybugs, aphids, and spider mites are some of the bugs that may attack them. You can protect the plant using systemic pesticides such as need oil and keeping it healthy. Contact pesticides help when you already have an infestation in your plants.

Before you leave …

You can see all plants from the Sempervivum genus on Succulent City on this page. Or the previous/next plant:

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