on senescence have concluded that cushion plants typically die en masse rather than individual rosettes dying at separate times. Underneath the living rosettes, the plants typically produce nonphotosynthetic material or allow previous leaves to die, creating an insulating effect.

Cushion plants grow very slowly. In the case of Silene acaulis, growth rates have been measured at 0.6 mm to 18.2 mm per year. Coinciding with this impeded growth is increased longevity,