All Hen's Go To Heaven...Eventually...

   So now it is time that I talk about one of my favorite succulents to grow! Hen's~and~chicks! More affectionatly called Turkey's~in~a~Basket around here:)  These fun little flowers will be sure to keep you entertained and surprised throughout your time together!
  I started growing them in random containers 2 years ago, and according to what I had read, it seemed the more you left them alone the better they did!  It went against my "gardener's grain" to not water or fuss over them to much but as soon as the cold weather hit they were on there own!  Here is what they looked like when I first purchased them.

 Adorable aren't they?  I fell in love with the 1 Hen and all of her little chicks:)   I used pea gravel and Dollar General potting mix because the don't require many nutrients...and hey, cheaper the better!  I put them in there new home and left them on my back deck, recieving a good 6 hours of sunshine and water only when in rained.

 Now, all of a sudden this summer, I noticed that my mama Hen was starting to do something a little strange. So where did I head? Google...

At first, it looked like a little cactus-type plant was growing out of the center.  I soon discovered ( thank you google) that mama-hen is in her final season of life and that these plants will bloom a single shoot out of their center to signify this.

  At the center of the stalk, the soon to be flower blooms are just beginning to emerge.

 These stalks and blooms can grow to be quite large ( 2 feet at times!) or be rather short.  Again, just another interesting thing this plant does!

  Now, I must admit that when I first heard that this was the final season for mama-hen, I was just a tad sad for she was my first.  But, mama-hen has produced so many chicks for me and their chicks have had chicks that she is going out a great-great-grandma and should be proud!

  Unfortunately, these are the most recent pics that I have.  I will take more throughout her last season and she will hopefully give me one last hurrah in a beautiful flower!  Knowing myself, I will probably try and collect the seeds and become my own mama-hen:)  hmmmm...I'm feeling another possible google search!