Sempervivum and Jovibarba

[Graham Catlow]

Sempervivum 'Hey Hey' in its full summer colour

Graham

[Lvandelft]

Graham, I'm afraid this is not Hey Hey. It is more likely a S. calcareum form.
We grew S. Hey Hey many, many years commercially and looks totally different.
Here is a link where you can see 5 pics. of Hey Hey in different stages. (Click to make the foto's bigger)
http://www.semper-sedum.ch/Sempervivum%20A-Z/Hey%20Hey/index.html

[Graham Catlow]

Graham, I'm afraid this is not Hey Hey. It is more likely a S. calcareum form.
We grew S. Hey Hey many, many years commercially and looks totally different.
Here is a link where you can see 5 pics. of Hey Hey in different stages. (Click to make the foto's bigger)
http://www.semper-sedum.ch/Sempervivum%20A-Z/Hey%20Hey/index.html

I'm trying to think of a suitable response that is printable. Perhaps I'll just have to use this  and this 

This has been S. 'Hey Hey' for 15 years in my garden.
Will have to add this to a long list of plants bought from reputable nurseries that aren't what they are supposed to be. If it looked even similar I could perhaps understand the mistake but it doesn't look anything like it.

Thanks Luit.
Graham

[Maggi Young]

Yes, graham, it may well be a long list.... some of us have got whole library shelves of such plants!
Never mind....on the plus side that is one cracking plant you have there... fantastic colours and  growing really well.

 That's a good link, Luit, thank you.  I like the way the website allows the changing photos.

[Graham Catlow]

Yes, graham, it may well be a long list.... some of us have got whole library shelves of such plants!
Never mind....on the plus side that is one cracking plant you have there... fantastic colours and  growing really well.

 That's a good link, Luit, thank you.  I like the way the website allows the changing photos.

Thanks for the words of encouragement Maggi. I will just have to appreciate it as nameless.
I hadn't looked at the website until just now I just looked at the pics of Hey Hey. It is a really good site thanks for pointing it out Luit
The pain and then the pleasure. 
Graham

[Lvandelft]

Don't bother Graham! You are having a wonderful Semp in your garden. These things happen all the time. And I KNOW what I'm talking about.
The bad thing is that it seems to become even worse, especially with older cultivars. Many younger gardeners (nurserymen) don't know them anymore 
But there are always some specialists somewhere and through the net accessible.

[Maggi Young]

Here's another page with good photos of sempervivum cultivars... with music as you browse!  http://sempervivum-jovibarbas.blogspot.com/2007/09/cultivares.html

[TheOnionMan]

Here's another page with good photos of sempervivum cultivars... with music as you browse!  http://sempervivum-jovibarbas.blogspot.com/2007/09/cultivares.html

The trick with semps and jovibarbas, is to find those sites that can be considered reliable web resources.  They should be fairly comprehensive and give pertinent information, such as the hybridizer, year of introduction, brief description, and several photos of plants grown exposed to the weather taken during various times of the year (greenhouse semps tend to turn green and lax, hardly looking anything like their true selves).  Maggi, I'm afraid the site you gave is a bit lacking in detail and credibility, too many soft greenhouse grown semps and too many "Sempervivum no determinado"   

There are some resources in Germany, Japan, and elsewhere, that offer more dependable information.  One I like is a German site:
http://www.semperhorst.de/Inhaltsverzeichnis%20der%20HP/Inhaltsverzeichnis.htm
The listing is extensive, typically about 3 photos per cultivar, the plants grown hard so that they show their true colors, a really good resource.  I use the automatic Google translate feature on such sites.
Sempervivum 'Hey Hey' can be seen here (scroll down to find Hey Hey), as comparison to Luit's link:
http://www.semperhorst.de/Diehmor%20H/Diehmor%20H.htm

I agree with Luit, that the plant is not Hey Hey, but probably a calcareum hybrid, or even possibly a tectorum hybrid, but a really beautifully colored form it is!  The grouping of this semp, shown in first photo on the left, looks like a map of South America    Oh, and the photo parsing and enlarging mouse actions on Luit's link are rather different and interesting.

There is a very good Japanese site too, select cultivars by alphabetical listing, and there's a list of S. tectorum and calcareum cultivars, mouse over any of the thumbnail images, and a large image is shown.  This mystery semp may indeed have calcareum or tectorum in it's blood line, but might not be specifically listed as such, more likely than not it will bear a cultivar name.
http://www.succulents.jp/photolist_sempervivum_index.html

[TheOnionMan]

Graham, looking at the Japanese listing of S. tectorum forms on the Japanese link I gave, your colorful semp (the not-Hey-Hey) looks something like S. tectorum from Isella or S. tectorum 'Sunset', although the the leaf tip characteristics point to calcareum.

http://www.succulents.jp/photolist_sempervivum_index.html

[cohan]

Sempervivum 'Hey Hey' in its full summer colour

Graham

i've read down, sorry about the name! but in any case, looks great both in the gravel and in rock crevices..
i'm not inclined to cultivars intellectually, but there really are some great colours i received several 'lost label' plants from europe last year, and they are looking great already, even without pedigrees man-made or 'real' so i'll just put my snobbery to the side...lol

[Maggi Young]

Well, I didn't say the site was the holy grail of semp ID.... I just said it had clear photos with music.....

[TheOnionMan]

Well, I didn't say the site was the holy grail of semp ID.... I just said it had clear photos with music.....

That's okay, I forgive you

[TheOnionMan]

Two photos of an anomalous stemless flowering on Sempervivum 'Brock'.  Inadvertently, I planted two similarly colored/named sempervivums together, S. 'Brock' & 'Bronco'.  The flowering semp is 'Brock', which in spring is a dark red color, greening up in summer.  The 5-6 visible rosettes just below and to the left of the flowering rosette are 'Brock', the other rosettes with darker pointed tips, is 'Bronco'.

Photos 3-5 show a rosette color time progression, and demonstrate that Alliums and semps don't mix! Allium seeds drop between the rosettes, a perfect home for seeds to germinate,ending up with visual chaos, and it is near impossible to extract bulb seedlings.  The allium in this case is A. flavum ssp. tauricum. 

[Ragged Robin]

I will just have to appreciate it as nameless

Graham, I think your no-name Semp is outstanding and incredibly well established in your garden - still in its 'Heyday' after 15 years so congratulations  

[Graham Catlow]

Well who would have thought that two photos with an incorrect name would have led to all this.
Luit,Mark and Maggi, I really appreciate you all taking the time to discuss this and to add the websites; all of which are excellent. I will probably spend too much time browsing them this evening and the next few days, and listening to the musical one
I think, like many sempervivums of unknown origins, the real name of this one will never be answered.
Cohan - my collection contains mainly species but I do have a few cultivars that I couldn't resist.

Thank you all for your positive comments on how it looks and how well it is doing.

Graham, I think your no-name Semp is outstanding and incredibly well established in your garden - still in its 'Heyday' after 15 years so congratulations 

Robin - thanks and that's very clever


So, Hey Hey tomorrow is another day.

Graham