Most cold-hardy succulents such as Sempervivums do not get very tall. It's easier to avoid freezing by keeping low to the ground. In late May 2026, I was surprised to see the plant I know only as Sempervivum heuffelii unknown #5 start to rise above its surroundings. Its leaves have always been burgundy but they started getting getting patchy. My interpretation of these events was it was getting ready to flower...and then die. Sempervivums are monocarpic, which means they die after they flower. Fortunately, this plant produced two offsets to carry on after the main plant croaks. It's all rather fascinating. This is the timeline of the series of images shown below:
- January 29 - Sempervivum #5 unboxed and planted.
- February 15 - A view of the first offset.
- May 27 - The beginning of the changes.
- June 6 - The changes become more dramatic.
- June17 - The stalk keeps growing and the flower bud becomes more defined.
- June 20 - More growth, and views of the two offsets.
- June 30 - The stalk continues to elongate and droop.
- July 5 - More growth, the flowers start to open.
- July 9 - The stalk is nearly horizontal.
- July 15 - Flower buds continue to develop, leaves at the base are drying up.
- July 23 - The flowers have closed up.
- July 28 - Leaves at the base are flaking off, seed pods are developing. And we have another "situation."
- August 2 - Flower head continues to dry, a view of the two surviving offsets.
- August 30 - Chopping off the flower stalk.
January 29
The first photo is from January 29, the day I got the plant, and the offsets are barely visible on the sides.
February 15
A view of one of the offsets.
May 27
The first indication that something was changing as the center of the plant started getting taller.
June 6
The changes become more dramatic.
June 17
These two images shows significant growth of the stalk, and a closeup of the presumed flower bud.
June 20
More growth. Also shown are the two offsets that will continue on after the main plant dies.
Mountain Crest Gardens says it is possible to stop a Sempervivum from flowering: "You can temporarily halt the blooming process by scooping out the bloom stalk with a sharp, clean knife. This only works if you catch the bloom stalk as soon as the rosette center starts to close in and elongate." I'm not going to try that. I want to see what happens, and there are two good offsets to take over.
June 30
The slow-motion train wreck continues. The stalk continues to elongate and the head is drooping more as it gets heavier.
July 5
The stem continues to elongate and the plant looks like it is going to tip over. Flower parts are finally becoming visible in the head so maybe we are nearing the climax.
Here is one of the two offsets. They both look healthy and ready to take over. The color difference is stark. The original plant is a blotchy burgundy and green, while the offsets are mostly bright green.
July 9
More of the flower buds have opened and the stalk is nearly horizontal. It also has made a left turn to point toward the sun from its usual spot on the patio table under the window. I usually take these images in the late evening during the golden hour, which is why the closeup has that color. I also tried something with the closeup that I haven't done before, focus stacking without using a tripod. Zerene did a good job of aligning the 20 images but it lost some of the color.
July 15
The stalk continues to bow and the flower buds continue to develop. Some of the leaves at the base of the stem are drying up as the offsets get ready to take over.
July 23
We may be approaching the end. The flowers have closed up and the seeds must be forming inside the pods. There are more dried-up leaves in the pot next to the offsets.
July 28
The leaves at the base of the flower stem are drying up and flaking off. All that remains to be seen is what happens to the seed pods at the end of the stalk.
As we approach the end of this, we have another "situation." The Chick Charms 'Powdered Pastry' is rising up in the middle. This is a change from just a few weeks ago when no bump was evident. This is one of the two that I put in an 8-inch pot a couple weeks ago because it needed the space. It has been sitting outside in full sun since then, and at first I thought the bump was just part of the overall growth. There are at least seven good-sized offsets on short stolons that would take over, but still, it is such a massive Sempervivum compared to everything else I have that I would rather not go through this now. However, no one asked me and it is happening. See "Death of a Sempervivum, part II."
August 2
No real developments the past few days. The flower head is drying up and the two offsets are fighting through the debris left by the stalk. I could chop off the stalk and clean up the pot, but I have decided to let this play out all the way. It will be interesting to see if the seeds are viable.
August 30
Not much happened in August except the two surviving offsets went from green to burgundy in the direct afternoon sunlight. The flower stalk progressively dried up and I decided today to cut it and clean up what remained, which is the two offsets. (But with the original plant now gone, I should refer to them as rosettes, not offsets.) I will keep the seed head and sometime in the early spring I will try to sprout the seeds. I have no expectations. It would be interesting to have something grow, and it would be interesting to see if it breeds true. Considering that I don't know the variety of Unknown #5, it might be more cool if something completely different sprouted.
