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I am thinking about planting Hens and Chicks and the likes in this planter that is on my porch. The orientation is north west, so it gets some sun in the afternoon and it gets rain every now and then when the direction of the rain allows it.

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Is this a good place for a miniature rock garden? What do I need to know before attempting to do this?

Niall C.
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MiniMe
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2 Answers2

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It's not a great situation for rock plants, apart from its being out of the way of lots of rain. Hen and Chicks (Sempervivum, or House Leek) is an alpine plant, so it likes a very open situation, full sun, free draining, gritty and poor soil. Most 'rock' type plants are alpines, and all prefer similar conditions. In such a situation as you describe, a better choice would be plants that prefer shade and don't mind dry soil conditions, such as Lamiums.

Bamboo
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  • both drainage and watering can be controlled, first by adding a layer of gravel that will make the water migrate below that level, then add soil and small rocks, the second by spraying the plants regularly (although I read somewhere that these plants usually get their water from the air -I suspect that might had been about succulents) My only problem here is the sun light – MiniMe May 20 '16 at 13:17
  • Precisely - not enough sun – Bamboo May 20 '16 at 13:50
  • how can I measure that ? How many hours of sun do these plants need? I live in Ontario Canada – MiniMe May 20 '16 at 13:57
  • Full sun means not less than 6 hours of direct sunlight as a minimum, and for houseleek, it'd be 8-10 hours. – Bamboo May 20 '16 at 16:38
  • I read somewhere that the dark green varieties are OK with more shadow and indoor while the brown red ones require full sun. True or false? – MiniMe May 22 '16 at 10:13
  • The 'full sun' qualification given in my previous comment still applies, green or brown leaves - but if you want to try anyway, don't let me stop you! – Bamboo May 22 '16 at 21:33
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Here is the picture of the above one year later. Still needs work and rocks properly arranged there

enter image description here

MiniMe
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