Identification

[blober]

Hi,

Please help me to identify this plant.

[hendi_alex]

Common name hens and chicks. (Sempervivum tectorum) or similar species.

[blober]

Thank you, I had the idea that it is a Mexican Rose. What is the difference?

[hendi_alex]

I think that you may be correct. I hadn't seen hens and chicks in several years and didn't distinguish the difference in form. The hens and chicks plants have similar use in a succulent garden or rock garden. I think that the size is similar, but other than being succelents these plants must not be nearly a closely related as I has imagined as the genus is totally different.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/65010/

[blober]

I have no idea, I live in South Africa and it is very common here. How will I find out what it is. Is it Mexican Rose or Hen and Chicks?

[hendi_alex]

Click the link that I provided above. Looks identical to me.

[cynthia_h]

You seem to be very interested in succulent identification; are you familiar with the Cactus & Succulent Society of America?

http://www.cssainc.org

There are over 80 affiliated chapters of the CSSA, many of them in other countries. There was a list of publications available; at least some of them must be identification guides.

The common names like "hen and chicks" or "Mexican rose" may be applied to several varieties of succulent; however, those varieties may have different scientific names. Someone else's "hen and chicks" may not be the same as mine.

Even Sunset is careful to draw the distinction between:

--Hen and chickens. See SEMPERVIVUM tectorum.
--Hen and chicks. See ECHEVERIA.

And there are hundreds of varieties of succulents, some specific to one locale.

Also: please do not post multiple messages with the same title; it will actually diminish your response, as people will see the titles and think, "Oh, I've already seen that one." If you have any information as to the plants--where you got them, how you got them, who the grower was--that is also helpful. This is a discussion community of (mostly amateur, a few professional) gardeners, and any information you can provide would be helpful.

It's very difficult to open a message and see "Please help me identify this plant," without telling us anything about whether it is indoor/outdoor, how old it is, where in the world (literally) you are growing it, etc. Let us know what you *already know* about the plant(s).

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9