Hens in a Stump

The word has gotten round my workplace that I am a gardening nut. Last week, one of my former coworkers (she was transferred to another department) brought me a bag full of Sempervivum (Hens and Chicks). As she handed them to me, she insisted that they could only be grown in a strawberry pot and seemed concerned that I didn’t have one. At the last moment, I thought she might take the bag back, but she let me have it after dire warnings about overwatering and planting in ordinary pots.

Honestly, I have nothing against strawberry pots, but her dogmatic attitude inflamed my obstinate streak. I decided not to buy a strawberry pot just to be contrary. Instead, I planted the hens in my upturned stump.

The stump isn’t yet rotted enough to provide niches for the roots, so I helped it along with my cordless drill and a ¾” Irwin Speedbor drill bit. I drilled the holes (wiggling the drill a bit to get a larger hole) and inserted the umbilicus of each little hen. I didn’t add soil or water, but I probably should.

I’m not sure if these will survive living in the stump. It could be to dry, cold, or shady. If they do establish and multiply, however, my stump will be simply charming. I’ll keep y’all updated. Maybe I’ll start a new trend of growing Hens and Chicks in pieces of old wood instead of in the current moss wreaths.