Gift that became an obsession — Hen and Chicks

Someone gave me Hen and Chicks as a birthday gift and I barely knew what it was. Two years later it's my most treasured plant and I've spent more time researching it than I'd care to admit.

The key discovery was using a gritty well-draining cactus compost mix — once that clicked, the plant transformed. easy propagation from leaf cuttings is what gets mentioned every time anyone visits. I keep it in a shallow dish garden arrangement which works perfectly. new offsets appearing around the base in spring is when I understand why this plant has such devoted followers. etiolation from insufficient light is the one ongoing challenge but it's worth the effort.