Hen & Chicks, Giant Steel Appeal

Giant Steel Appeal Hen and Chicks makes an immediate impression with unusually large rosettes of silvery blue-green foliage that give off a cool, architectural quality in the rock garden or container. The tight, overlapping leaves radiate from each rosette center with geometric precision, creating a structural display that earns compliments long before the summer flowers arrive. When it does bloom, pink flowers rise above the foliage on tall stems, and the parent rosette matures offsets that fill in steadily as a low groundcover or scattered accent across rocky, dry areas. Drought, poor soils, and neglect are no obstacle for this tough sempervivum—once established, it thrives in the conditions that would discourage almost anything else. It is evergreen, deer and rabbit resistant, and tolerates black walnut, making it a go-to choice for exposed, challenging, or otherwise problematic planting spots. Few plants bring more character per square inch to a sunny, well-drained position.