Showy Stonecrop
Hylotelephium spectabile
- Succulent
- Drought tolerant
- Fall flowers
- Low maintenance
- Salt tolerant
A drought-tough succulent whose flat heads of pink, star-shaped flowers light up the late-summer garden and feed pollinators.
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Showy stonecrop — formerly Sedum spectabile — is a clump-forming succulent beloved for the flat, broad heads of pink, star-shaped flowers that open atop its fleshy blue-green foliage in late summer and fall. As the season turns, the flower heads age to a handsome dark reddish-brown.
Four-season interest
The dried seed heads hold their shape through winter, giving the garden texture and structure long after the blooms have faded. The late flowers are a crucial food source for bees and butterflies heading into autumn.
Care tips
Plant it in full sun to part shade with well-drained soil, and cut the old stems back in early spring. It is both drought and salt tolerant, and rabbits tend to leave it alone. Favorites include ‘Autumn Joy’, ‘Neon’, and ‘Iceberg’.
Heads up: showy stonecrop is mildly toxic if eaten, and may cause stomach upset.
Habitat & form
Where it's from and what to expect.
- Native range
- China and Korea
- Plant type
- Succulent
- Mature size
- 1–2 ft tall and 1–2 ft wide.
- Bloom
- Star-shaped pink flowers in flat 4–6 in. heads from late summer into fall, aging to dark reddish-brown.
- Hardiness
- USDA zones 4–9.
Care
How to keep it happy.
- Sunlight
- Full sun to partial shade.
- Water
- Low — drought tolerant. Needs well-drained or gravelly soil and rots in wet ground.
- Soil
- Clay, loam, sand, or rocky soil with good drainage; average to low fertility, acid to alkaline pH.
- Pruning
- Maintenance: leave the dried heads for winter and cut old stems to the ground in early spring; an optional late-spring 'Chelsea chop' prevents the clump from flopping. Divide every few years to renew.