Plants send out many offspring, forming a dense colony. The parent rosettes are the hens, and the smaller rosettes are the chicks or chickens. The foliage of hens and chicks plants are normally green at the base and reddish brown at the tip, all with close, rigid dented edges.

Easy to grow in full sun to partial shade, and well-drained soil. While they are adaptable to a variety of soil types, they will do best in coarse, sandy soil. Although Semervivums can tolerate frosty conditions, excessive watering, fertilizer or humidity may cause rot.

Plant in rock gardens, alpine gardens, troughs and containers. Though hens will die after flowering, they will produce numerous chicks to take their place. To propagate, simply split off the chickens from the parent plant and transplant them. Providing contact with the soil should be sufficient for transplanting, since Sempervivum root readily.