Would someone tell me why

J. heuffelii is different from the rest of the Jovibarba - why it has its own section here at the ISF?

Thank you,

Jeff

Well, the price of a J. heuffelii rosette is 5 times the price the one of Sempervivum. Yeep, I better stop joking!



The fact is that J. heuffelii and it's cultivars are gaining popularity among Euroean collectors. Some say that the plain J. heuffelii is more beautiful than an "ordinary" semp. They claim the cultivars of J. heuffelii to have more vivid colours as cultivars of Sempervivums. They talk of this plant with the respect!

And if the price (resulted by the fact the divison of J. heuffelii is difficult!) was not so high .... there would be more J. heuffelii collectors!

Jovibarba heufelli is very distinctive and different from the other Jovibarba species. It is by far the showiest and, as Renata says, it is gaining a following amongst collectors. Here in the UK the number of cultivars available is limited compared with mainland Europe. I have contacted Volkmar Schara in the hope of importing plants but, so far, have had no response, despite his website saying that he ships world wide. Very disappointing!

I have a lovely seedling which I have been growing on for about three years. I am hoping to split it next year and may have some divisions available two years after that. One reason why J. heufellii cultivars are so much more expensive than semps.

Hi everyone,

The Heuffelli must be treated like a true succulent .

Whilst you can pull off semp pups and root , you must always cut the Heuff tuberous root with a sharp knife, powder the cuts with yellow or green sulphur and leave them to dry off for 2 weeks . Only then repot in a gritty soil, with extra grit by the cut area .

If you immediately pot up after division it will rot . Early season is believed to be best time to propagate .

I have just cut up a fair number of stock plants and will have swaps/sales in mid July .

Plants are more expensive because of very slow growth and minimal offsetting.

Best Wishes

John

If left as a clump for long enough (possibly several years) many J. heuffelii rosettes will actually fully divide and become separate plants which can be potted up immediately. I prefer to leave my Jovis as long as possible to reduce the very real threat that rosettes, when cut apart, will rot. Not all J. heuffelii will separate likethis, however, some stay stubbornly joined together!