Around 6, I think. Maybe 7. The rest of the day there's dappled light. We have two big oak trees in the backyard shading the whole garden. Direct light is available only in the morning, and then some in the afternoon, so there's really no way for me to move sempervivums to brighter place...

Hmm... They're telling me they want more light, but since you are already giving them as much as you can, I'm not sure what else you can do...

EDIT: Actually, does that pot have a drainage hole?

Yeah, it has drainage hole. Had to drill it myself, since apparently producers of glazed pots don't think those things need to be functional as well as nice looking.

Maria

There is no way that they get 6 or 7 hrs of direct light. Maybe they get some light meaning they are not in dark shade, but not sunshine or direct light = means totally unobstructed, coming down, directly on the plants. I have most growing in direct sunshine, and few are now in only about 3hrs of morning sunlight and rest of the day dappled shade since other perennials grew larger and shade them. None of them look same as yours. They are trying to expose as much leaf surface to light, that's why they are opening so much. The color is quite light too for the same reason.

There is nothing much you can do if you don't get sunlight in the garden- except maybe trim some branches of the tree?

Well, their spot is in full sun 8-10 a.m. at least (I think it's a bit more, but I don't wake early enough to check that), and then around three hours in the afternoon. The rest of it there's dappled shade.

How fast the deficiency of light affects them? I was away for two weeks and my mum brought them indoors, and then we had a week of nasty weather - does the dark, cloudy sky count?

The garden's tiny, like, 5x10 meters square, with both trees in the middle of it. And the trees are taller than out three storey house. They shade the whole street, and our neighbors gardens. I think no amount of trimming would help. Our tiny garden is too close to the trunks.

Maria

That is 'different story'! :) Yes. 3 weeks in dark spot will do that.

Semps should be outside, whole year round. They are hardy succulents and will survive winters in as low as z4, many even z3. They can be in pot or ground, and actually grow much better outdoors. Your container could have more problems than plants: unless it is frost proof, it may crack. It could happen 1st winter, or maybe in a few years. Same with terracotta pots.

Direct light as you describe should be quite alright. Put them there slowly -sun is not so strong anymore, but still take care of acclimatization: keep in just morning sun for few days, and then spot with as much sun as possible. And do not bring indoors - just make sure potting mix is fast draining.

Not necessarily dark, it stayed on south-west windowsill for those two weeks, and then it was outside for that one nasty week... I guess it was dark for sempervivums. I hope they'll revert before autumn. Autumns are usually dark and nasty over here, rainy too...

Well, if they are going to stay outside I should probably repot them. 50/50 mix of soil and perlite won't be draining fast enough with the amount of rain we usually get in the autumn.