First houseleek flower of the year

The first houseleek flower of the year has opened today on an arachnoideum variety called 'Jubilee' which has made a large mound in a pot.

According to the Sempervivophilia web site there are two 'Jubilees'. Mine, from Belgium, would appear to be S. arachnoideum 'Stansfieldii' x S. montanum f. raised by A. Hansen in the UK in 1969.

Moth eggs

On a rising crosier of Sempervivum arachnoideum var. I noticed a batch of moth eggs. I know of very few things that eat houseleeks (apart from the n0n-British Apollo butterfly), so it will be interesting to see how they develop.

Larva on Pastel

This morning I spot a small caterpillar on a rosette of Sempervivum 'Pastel'. I think it had been blown of nearby bushes.

Anyway, it perambulated about and was clearly not interested in eating any houseleek. Eventually I rescued it and put it on some Japonica leaves, probably its original food plant.

A large, well-formed rosette

To start this blog I have posted a picture of a large (13cm/5in across), well-formed rosette.

I have searched far and wide but cannot decide what it is. In some ways it resembles a cultivar called 'Sharon's Pencil', but I am far from convinced.

Since I bought it in Hastings last autumn, it has grown slowly, but still shows no sign either of producing offsets or flowering. If anyone has any suggestions as to what it is, I would be grateful to hear from them.