Sempervivum Gay Jester

Sempervivum 'Gay Jester' is a hybrid houseleek whose distinctly two-tone rosettes in spring quickly form attractive clumps that cover the ground well. This small succulent perennial plant produces rosettes of leaves strongly tinted with dark red at the base, ending in a tender green tip. They become almost entirely green in summer and winter. Mature rosettes are adorned with beautiful pink flower spikes with a darker centre. Easy to grow, the houseleek transforms even the smallest heap of stones, softening the terrain by covering it with a beautiful mantle. Once established, it prefers to be forgotten. Living off the air, this small plant is a godsend for enhancing neglected places. 

Sempervivum 'Gay Jester' is a horticultural hybrid. All houseleeks grow naturally in rocky grass, on rocks and scree, in exposed and sunny situations, mainly in mountainous areas. They belong to the Crassulaceae family.

The 'Gay Jester' houseleek is a succulent perennial whose thick and long roots infiltrate deeply into rock crevices, thus ensuring a good grip on the walls while drawing water from the depths. The plant slowly forms superb colonies of rosettes of different sizes, juxtaposed, reaching 6 to 10cm (2 to 4in) in diameter at maturity, and not exceeding 10cm (4in) in height. Over time, this houseleek can form a loose or dense carpet, spreading on the ground up to 40cm (16in), perfectly matching the terrain. Resembling a spread-out artichoke, each rosette is composed of numerous spatulate and pointed leaves, bordered by tiny cilia, without petioles, imbricated with one another. Their colour varies according to their age, the season, and the climatic conditions. Light green predominates, especially in summer and winter. The flowering appears on rosettes aged 2 or 3 years, which will then disappear, having ensured the plant's perpetuity by producing a few small daughter rosettes on the periphery. The fluffy flower spikes, 15cm (6in) tall, develop from June to August, formed by thick stems that bear 1 to 8 star-shaped flowers with 8 to 12 pink petals crossed by a dark pink midline. The heart of the flowers is a deep pink. 

Sempervivum 'Gay Jester', like all houseleeks, is an excellent plant for dry or alpine rockeries. It thrives where few species survive, colonising inhospitable spaces. If your soil is poor, rather dry, stony, rocky, or even slightly chalky, you can enjoy this hardy perennial (which withstands temperatures below -15°C (5°F)). It requires no maintenance and promises to animate any pile of stones, a low wall, or even a green roof. Houseleeks are unusual and easy-to-care-for succulent plants that quickly grow on you. Their flowers and foliage in various shades create a desire to collect them, multiply them, and compose amazing landscapes in the most inhospitable places. Magnificent in pot arrangements, especially in low terrine-type pottery, they are irreplaceable in borders, troughs, or rockeries, accompanied by wall bellflowers, paronychia, dedum, or Lewisia cotyledon. Consider choosing companions with staggered flowering (Antennaria dioica, thymes, delosperma, ice plants, Euphorbia myrsinites) to create a varied and joyful rockery.