In this quick vid, we are building a simple succulent rock garden to house a couple of houseleeks. Sempervivums require immaculate drainage and can live in rough conditions.

Unfortunately, the soil around my house is not conducive to good drainage. Rather than plant my sempervivums in the ground, I will be building a rock garden to aid in drainage and house the hen and chicks.

How to make a succulent rock garden:

Rock Garden Border: Build up your border to keep you loose soil and semps in place

Drainage: Add a drainage layer of gravel that will help keep the roots dry when it rains.

Sempervivum placement: Place your semps on top of your drainage layer and secure in place with some large rocks.

Adding Rocks: Consider adding some cactus or succulent mix around your semps and the rocks to give the succulents something to grab. They will do fine with the rocks, but when temperatures drop, you might need more soil to keep the roots from cold temps.

Sempervivum Care:

  • Semps need immaculate drainage as do all succulents. When planting succulents outdoors you need to make sure that the roots remain as dry as possible, even when it rains. Rocks will provide great drainage for succulents outdoors.
  • Hen and chicks also like bright indirect light. I recommend morning light which is bright but not as hot and shade in the afternoon. In the case of sempervivums, I have found that they can handle a pit more direct light. Their leaves are hard and much more tougher than the typical succulent. Don’t worry if your semps get a bit of direct light in the early afternoon. If the leaves bleach or burn, then you’ll know it is too much!
  • Although sempervivums are hardy in cold winters, a rock garden will make it easy for you to move your semps indoors during the winter or you can leave them where they are and insulate with additional cactus mix or consider a clear plastic cover with air holes.

If you enjoyed this simple plant DIY, check out the SuburbanSill Plant DIY playlist on Youtube. You might also like this post succulent propagation.