Plants Are Cool!

Plants are too cool. As a student that has intentions to achieve a horticulture degree, it would be totally out of character for me to write about anything other than plants! Trees, flowers, and other green life around the world have a huge impact on basically everything around us. One of the smaller categories of these beautiful green creatures are called succulents. (I actually happen to be a succulent breeder! Nothing professional- just for fun!) They are amazing, for so many reasons. To narrow it down even more, theres a specific succulent called a Hen and Chick, or more technically, a sempervivum hybrid. They happen to be my very favorite! 

You can harvest a “baby” or “chick” off of the “hen” and plant them. Before you know it they become a “hen” and start to grow their own “chicks”! These babies are basically indestructible. They can go days without water. They can get ripped out of their soil and stripped of their very complicated and intricate root systems, only to be stuffed into another pot and not even be shocked. They fight through the coldest winters and survive amazing temperature drops and rises, even though they do not grow during that time. (They are in growth only between 65 and 75 degrees.) Some even are capable of blooming in the warmer months. However their flowers could probably pass as aliens: 

An average life for a hen and chick would be anything between four and six years, but do not loose their color when they die. In fact, their “chicks” continue to spread and reproduce even when they don’t have a main source- they are very independent. I actually did a small experiment where I harvested a “chick” and removed all the roots. I placed it on the table inside, and waited... It didn’t even start to look wilted for almost two months. It was provided no water, hardly any sunlight, and no roots. How crazy is that! Their only weak point is that they usually prefer six or more hours of sun a day, which is considered full sun, however it is not required. And even that’s impressive!

This helpful how-to site has an awesome instruction guide of how you can grow your own hen and chick succulents and how to take good care of them. Theres a lot of great tips and its laid out very simple. I liked this site because it was easy to follow, and straight to the point. It also gave additional information that I thought was really helpful, especially if I was a beginner!