Learn the differences between various -hens and chicks- and why they matter.mp4

You probably know that most succulents have a Latin name, and often these are really long and quite difficult to pronounce and definitely difficult to spell. On the other hand, they do have common names. Now, this seems like it should be a really great option for naming your succulent and referring to it. However, there are some common names that start to get confusing because they don't refer to a specific plant or they're too general. One of the most common common names is hens and chicks. Now, the problem with this common name is that it refers to two totally different types of succulents that have very different needs, especially when it comes to temperature. So, these two types of succulents are called Echeverias or Echeverias and Semper Vivums. To show you the differences between these two types of succulents, I'm going to pull up some pages from Mountain Crest Gardens. They are the largest online selection of Semper Vivums, and they have a phenomenal selection of Echeverias as well. You can shop through our affiliate link by going to succulentsandsunshine.com. And that just means that we'll get a little commission if you do end up purchasing through their site. But for now, let me show you some great examples of both Semper Vivums and Echeverias. Let's start with Semper Vivums. These hens and chicks have a variety of different colors, though they are mostly in the red and green palettes. But you can see there is a lot of difference between the different varieties here. And you'll notice that some of them have this cilia or little hairs that grow on top that makes them look kind of fuzzy. The thing that is most notable about Semper Vivums is they are cold tolerant. And I'm not talking like they'll handle a frost here and there, but these will grow in zones four and five. So, if you have snow during the winter, you can grow Semper Vivums outside all year round. I had these when I was living in Utah, and they did so well. My parents still have some, and it's amazing to see them come back year after year from really heavy snow storms. So, Semper Vivums, as you can see, put off a lot of chicks. And that's obviously where that common name comes from of hens and chicks. Now, one of the ways that you can tell the difference between a Semper Vivum and an Echeveria is that Semper Vivums have little teeth along the edges. So, you can see if we zoom in here, you can see these little tiny teeth on the edges. They're not sharp or anything like that, but it is a distinct characteristic of Semper Vivums. If we switch over here to Echeverias, you'll see there are lots of colors of Echeverias, mostly blues, purples, greens, and reds. These have really smooth, fleshy leaves. And for the most part, this is not a hard fast rule, but for the most part, the leaves are wider than Semper Vivums. So, if we come back here to Semper Vivums, you can see a lot of these leaves are longer and skinnier, whereas the Echeverias tend to be a little bit fatter or wider. And unlike the Semper Vivums, which have those little teeth along the edge, Echeverias have a very smooth edge to them. So, if we look at this Echeveria Atlantis, and we go in close, you can see the edges here are very smooth and rounded. So, you don't see any of the teeth like you do on a Semper Vivum. That is one of the most telling signs that it's an Echeveria and not a Semper Vivum. You can see there are a lot of commonalities between the leaf shapes. So, they come to a point here at the end, just like the Semper Vivums also come to a point at the end. Now, unlike Semper Vivums, Echeverias cannot tolerate freezing temperatures. Now, you can see that on this Echeveria Atlantis, it is actually only rated down to 30 degrees Fahrenheit. So, if you have temperatures below freezing for multiple nights in a row, you need to make sure that your Echeverias get brought inside so that they don't suffer from frost damage. Semper Vivums, on the other hand, are usually hardy down to zones 4 or 5, meaning they can handle temperatures down to negative 20 and sometimes negative 30 degrees Fahrenheit. You can also see here a zoning guide. So, all the way down here in Phoenix, I am in a zone 9, but if you live anywhere much north of where I'm at, you're going to be in a zone 7, 6, or 5. So, you're going to want to look for hardy succulents like a Semper Vivum for growing outdoors in the winter. Now, another thing that sets Semper Vivums and Echeverias apart, and this is a really important difference, is how they bloom and what happens after they bloom. So, Semper Vivums are known as monocarpic. This means that after they bloom, that mother plant will die. Now, usually before it dies, it'll put off a whole bunch of chicks, so you have plenty of succulents that will continue to grow. You can see these flowers here. These are from a Semper Vivum bloom, and the stalk of the Semper Vivum bloom is really large, so it will look like the entire plant is growing upward, and eventually it will get these little flowers at the very end, and then that mother plant that you see here will dry up after the bloom has died. Now, of course, it will put off all these little babies around it. You can also cut off the bloom before it has completely grown out, and generally that will force the plant into putting off a bunch of new offsets right in the center of the plant. Echeverias are polycarpic, so this means that they bloom multiple times throughout the life of the plant, and often they'll have multiple flower stalks on one single rosette. You can see here these really long skinny stems that have the tight flowers at the end, and you can see the difference here between the two. These flowers open up really wide, whereas the Echeveria flowers tend to stay a little bit more closed up. And then, of course, this is a small skinny stem, whereas the Semper Vivums are going to have a much thicker stalk along their flower. Now, one of the last ways that you can tell the difference between an Echeveria and a Semper Vivum doesn't apply to all Echeverias, but it does apply to most. So most Echeverias will have what's called a farina on them. So you can see how this succulent has a kind of waxy or powdery look to the leaves, and then you can notice here how there's a little smudge. So this farina can actually be removed from the plant simply by touching it. So our friends at Leaf and Clay have this lovely picture, and you can see here how you can see her fingerprint from where she touched the Echeveria. This farina, or this waxy coating, helps prevent succulents from getting too much water on them. So it is hydrophobic, it helps the water run off of the succulent leaves, and it also acts as a natural sunscreen for the succulent. So you really want to avoid removing the farina as it can make the succulent more susceptible to damage from water and from too much sunshine. If you do happen to smudge off some of the farina, it does not grow back on those leaves, so you may want to make sure your succulent isn't in as much direct sunlight until those new leaves form with the healthy farina growing. Not all Echeverias have that farina on them. A great example is this Echeveria pulvinata. You can see how it has little hairs on it. It still has smooth rounded leaves, however, so that does help you identify it as an Echeveria. You may notice though that these are different than the cilia, or little hairs that grow along the edges of some Sempervivums. But if we look closely here, you can still see the little teeth along the edge of this Sempervivum, whereas those are not apparent here as we look at the Echeveria pulvinata. You can see the leaves are still very smooth on the end. All right, so now let's come back full circle. Now that you've seen both of these hens and chicks succulents, you can understand why that common name can be really tricky. If you have hens and chicks outside for the winter, or you're wondering if you can keep them outside in the snow, the answer might be yes, the answer might be no, depending on what types of hens and chicks that you have. So I hope this helps to see the differences between the Echeveria and Sempervivums. They are both fantastic succulents to have in your succulent garden. Of course, if you are in the market to buy some Sempervivums, head over to succulentsandsunshine.com slash mcg. You can shop through our affiliate link and buy the succulents that you saw here in the video. Thank you so much for watching. If you liked this video, be sure to give it a thumbs up, hit subscribe, share it with all of your succulent loving friends, and tell me in the comments, which one do you prefer, Echeverias or Sempervivums? And I will see you next time.