Last Updated on December 29, 2021 by Marco C.
So why are your hens and chicks growing tall? This is not the first time we have heard of these succulents. While succulents don’t need much care to grow, many beginners experience difficulty in growing chicken and hens’ flowers.
Many factors are affecting the growing hens and chicks. These succulent plants have attractive, fleshy leaves in a rosette shape that will send up a long stalk that bears small flowers. It takes more than a year to make your succulent bloom, especially if it is your first time planting them. But some who are located in succulent-conducive regions find it very easy to propagate Hens and Chicks.
When your hens and chicks start growing tall, it means that there is something wrong with the soil, location, or sun exposure. Today on the blog, we are going to dig deeper into why your succulent is not growing as expected.
What You Need To Know About the Hens and Chicks
Hens and Chicks come from the family of the sempervivum group of succulent plants. They are commonly known as house sleeks and grow well indoors.
Hens and chicks are so-called as such because of the rosette shape and the capability of the plant to make numerous babies. If you want an easy-to-care garden, the hens and chicks are the ideal options. When it is time for the plant to bloom, it is typically done so in summer when long, warm, sunny days support flower production.
When hens and chick succulents start to blossom, it may cause some shock to succulent owners. Since the sprout tail can resemble a lump or peculiar stem, most people wonder whether it’s a disease or something that is bothering them. This bulge or lump may start growing from the center.
At first, you may wonder what it is. But it is likely a flower stalk that eventually turns into little star-shaped blooms as time passes by. This can include the closing of the center’s leaves, that stretch at the main stem. Sometimes, it has a tilted appearance to the rosette.
Hens and Chicks Growing Tall: Cause and Solution
If you notice your sempervivum growing tall, it is because it lacks sun exposure. Just like any other plant, when succulents need sunlight, it tries to stretch as long as it can to reach the spot where it can receive sunlight.
Hens and chicks are not the only plants that grow tall when they’re in dire need of sunlight. Other succulents like echeverias, graptoverias, and the like can also grow tall when they lack sunlight exposure. So if you are asking “why are my hens and chicks growing tall”, we’ve already told you the answer.
Can you still fix your succulent? How do you fix a succulent that has already etiolated? Once a sempervivum has grown taller it is impossible to return it to its smaller shape. However, you shouldn’t worry that much. The issue has an answer, and we can even exploit the present circumstance.
To fix it, we will cut the upper piece of the hens and chicks plant with extremely sharp scissors, leaving somewhere in the range of two and four centimeters of the stem to have the option to establish it.
At the base (the part with roots) we should leave a couple of leaves so it can get the daylight and relax. Although succulents are equipped for growing from exposed stems, they do as such more effectively if they have a few leaves.
Planting Hens and Chicks Cuttings
The following are some tips on how to grow your hens and chicks cuttings:
- Leave it to dry for a few days. Drying it lets it cut wounds to heal so once it is planted on the soil, it can only focus on growing some roots. When the bottom is wet, your succulent is also prone to rotting. As we’ve said, you don’t have to fret upon knowing some hens and chicks growing tall.
- Pick a pot and prepare a potting mix for succulents. Your ordinary gardening mix will work fine but to help improve its condition for your succulent, you can add pumice to it.
- Plant the cuttings on the pot and put it in a spot where it can receive more light.
- Wait for a few weeks to see that the upper part is growing. Next, you will see your hen and chicks blooming.
Hens and Chicks Growing Tall: Indoor Gardening Tips
With the previous solution, we can get the plant to develop back and have its typical shape. However, we won’t accomplish our goal if we don’t furnish it with all the lighter.
If you leave them in a similar spot they were, they will extend once more. Hence, before doing the entire process, pick a spot where they can direct sunlight.
So, can you plant them inside? What if I like to have an indoor succulent garden? Well, growing succulents inside your home can be quite challenging but we’ll tell you a secret.
Inside, it is truly challenging to develop succulents without etiolating a bit, you need to put them in a window where they get a ton of light for the day, yet not the immediate sun. When there is no chance of giving regular light, you can use a grow light.
Nevertheless, you can also place them on the windowsill where they can have access to indirect sunlight for at least 4-6 hours.
Conclusion
If you find hens and chicks growing tall, you need to put your succulents near a sunny location. However, when it has grown tall that they start to sag to the grown, your best choice is to cut the stem and replant them.
As for the whole plant, caring for your succulent doesn’t have to be extremely tedious. Once your cuttings and other plants have established a strong root system, they’ll eventually survive.
Now you know what to do when your succulent grows tall. Don’t hold back from taking the necessary steps in making sure that your plant survives.
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