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Hylotelephium spectabile |
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| Synonym(s) |
Sedum spectabile |
| Common name |
showy stonecrop; tall sedum |
| Family |
crassulaceae |
| Life cycle |
perennial (Z4-9) |
| Flowers |
pink (late summer-fall) |
| Size |
2' |
| Light |
sun |
| Cultural notes |
not fussy |
From seed  |
self-seeds in our garden, very occasionally
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One of the parents of the popular 'Autumn Joy' sedum, this one has flowers that are a clearer pink, and bloom a few weeks earlier. In our garden, it's also a somewhat larger plant, making an impressive one-foot-tall half-dome of that typical succulent sedum foliage - quite attractive even when not in bloom. A magnet for butterflies and beneficial insects. We've had our oldest one, pictured here, for many years, and every year it gives us two flower colors, lighter pink on one side, deeper pink on the other.
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We left this plant behind in our Pennsylvania garden (and wish it well); we don't grow it in Houston. About my plant portraits
PlantLinks to other web pages about Hylotelephium spectabile
Visitors to this page have left the following comments| Ratko Pejovic | Nov 25, 2004 | Hi, could you tell me should I cut "Autumn Joy" sedium to the ground, when it dies in the winter or I should not touch it.
Thanks, Ratko |
| Astrid Boylett Cairns | Jun 21, 2005 | According to our lecturers (Pershore College, UK), family names of plants should begin with capitol letters. Hope this is helpful. |
| Andrea R. | Sep 11, 2006 | I am growing my 1st Sedum Spectabile Neon. It gets very little sun, but is thriving. I only planted one, to see how it would do. Do they reseed to multiply, & are you supposed to cut them down?
The plain species has sparingly reseeded for me, none of the fancy cultivars and hybrids have. But it's one of the easiest plants to multiply by division or rooting cuttings. Cut them down when they no longer look nice in early winter, and enjoy the emerging little cabbage-head buds instead. |
| charlene newlon | Oct 03, 2006 | i am a master gardener (which means i have a LOT to learn) and i want to give a talk to our group on live-for-evers Sedium spectabile and the different new varieties. I have started some from a piece of the mother. dont know what the are but learning. can you give me a site to go to that would helpful. your site is very helpful also. thanks
I'm not aware of any one good resource on the web - but you can find lots of information by hopping between Google results. Good luck! |
| al at rhoal 1@comcast .net | Aug 19, 2008 | i belong to several garden clubs here in south fla. i have won a few awards for design and color both from my out side garden and also my indoor plants which includes a number of orchids i am interested in buying a number os sedium plants could you name some places i could purchase them
Many web-based mail-order companies offer a selection of sedums. Try looking through the listings at the Open Directory Project for some choices. |
| Ron | Dec 29, 2008 | When do you prune the Sedum spectabile?
It's not the kind of plant one prunes. Let it grow naturally through the growing season, then cut it down in late fall or winter, when the spent flower stalks start toppling over and look messy. |
| Dennis | May 07, 2009 | I just purchased a few sedum plants that already have flower heads, nearly ready to bloom. Should I just ignore that or cut them back since this is only early May in Michigan?
I don't think that letting them bloom now will hurt them - nor would cutting them back (but no guarantees on getting flowers this year if you do). |
| linda | May 31, 2010 | I want to know how I can get the seeds from my sedum to start other flower beds.
thanks
When the seedhead has dried up, you should be able to collect seeds by cutting it off and shaking it upside down into a container. But for most sedums, divisions or cuttings are better ways to propagate - quicker, and certain to get you a plant just like the original. |
| Lynn | Oct 10, 2010 | I notice that many sources suggest full sun for sedum spectabile. I have a massive Autmn Joy, just as shown on your site, on the north side of my house getting only morning sun. It's at least 30 years old and unfailingly lovely, survived our drought with no watering at all. I've taken several divisions. Question: how do you think this plant would do in a container?
I'm sure the sun exposure needs depend on your climate - in our garden, the tall sedums are prone to aphid attack if they don't get lots of sun. As for using it in a container: I think they'd do fine, as long as the container is big enough to provide the root support and keep the plant upright. |
| Diane | Nov 28, 2011 | I have one that rooted from a cutting in a container 9 years ago and it is doing quite well. I have thought about planting it but never get around to it. The container is about 12-18 in. |
| Judy | Jan 11, 2012 | Have been growing the clear pink "Never Dies" Sedum spectabile for 2 years now (i.e., 2 summers) and it does thrive here in Phoenix, AZ in a long terra cotta planter box but has to be placed in full shade on a north side here in the desert. Plants came from sister in Kansas. I don't prune it back but wait for the small new growth - cabbages - to grow in the Spring - our January - when the old stems will die back and I can gently twist them off. The mature broken stems root in water for me and also produce the small cabbages at the bases which I will plant on in the next couple of weeks. The key here is not to overwater, esp. in the hottest part of the year from late May thru mid October. Also just drop a sheet over them when freezing. Good plant for shade gardens here in the desert. Will have to amend my clay soil with lots of sand and organic matter to get them to thrive in the ground. Thanks for your site! |
| Olga | Jun 09, 2012 | I now live in the mountains of western Massachusetts. Previously, I lived in Boston. When I lived in Boston, I went here to the mountains on weekends and I dug the wild Sedum spectabile for my garden. It blossomed magnificently, and was my favorite plant. Therefore when I moved here to the mountains, I was very pleased to see that around my house a lot of Sedum spectabile grow! But here this plant does not bloom! It grows like a beautiful leafy bushes, very healthy, multiply like a weed, but for 10 years, I have never seen a bloom! And this is the same plant that bloomed so beautifully in my Boston garden! Do you know what's the problem?
Very strange. I'm pretty sure it gets warm enough, and the fact that they're growing all around means they are propagating somehow. The only reason for them not blooming I can think of is that they aren't getting enough sun. |
| Rrichard Avery | Sep 01, 2013 | I don't want to be too picky but they are now known as Hylotelephium spectabile. I know, what a pain, just as we all got used to the old name
I know, I know... It's hard to keep up with the botanists. But since you nudged me, I updated the page. |
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