How to grow showy stonecrop (Hylotelephium spectabile)

Hylotelephium spectabile · sedum, butterfly stonecrop

Showy stonecrop (Hylotelephium spectabile) — a succulent perennial up to 45 cm with fleshy grey-green leaves on upright stems and flat heads, up to 15 cm across, of starry pink flowers in late summer and autumn, loved by bees and butterflies. Long sold as Sedum spectabile. Showy stonecrop grows best in full sun and soil with pH 6.5–8. Water it about every 14 days while it grows.

Updated: October 28, 2026

When to plant showy stonecrop?

It tolerates light frost: plant divisions into the bed about three weeks before your last spring frost.

It flowers about 139 days after growth starts and keeps flowering for about 60 days.

Frost dates · When to plant

Quick facts

Type	Flower
Latin name	Hylotelephium spectabile
Family	Crassulaceae
Also called	sedum, butterfly stonecrop
Planted as	divisions
Life span	perennial
Planting season	spring
Light	Full sun
Soil pH	6.5–8
Frost	tolerates light frost
Soil for planting	from 5 °C
First flowers	139 days after growth starts
Flowering lasts	60 days
Grown in	Open ground

How long does showy stonecrop take from planting to flowering?

From planting to the first flowers: about 139 days, or 20 weeks.

Step	Day
Planting	0
Growth starts	0
First flowers	139
End of flowering	199

Days count from the day of sowing or planting, by the figures of the card.

Where does showy stonecrop grow?

4,980 records of the plant in gardens, fields and the wild worldwide; most photos come from Norway, United States, Germany, Russia, and South Korea.

World map: where showy stonecrop has been recorded — Darker green means more records. Photos are real observations from those countries — tap one to see it. Map and records: GBIF.org (2026-10-28), © OpenMapTiles © OpenStreetMap. Photo: Kian Kopperud Sitter, W Rao, -217449406, panasenkonn, 들꽃ㅅr랑, 謝麗霦, Wang.QG (CC BY / CC0).

Showy stonecrop, Norway — Darker green means more records. Photos are real observations from those countries — tap one to see it. Map and records: GBIF.org (2026-10-28), © OpenMapTiles © OpenStreetMap. Photo: Kian Kopperud Sitter, W Rao, -217449406, panasenkonn, 들꽃ㅅr랑, 謝麗霦, Wang.QG (CC BY / CC0).

Showy stonecrop care by growth stage

Open ground

Stage	Watering	Temperature	Feeding
Growth	every 14 days	—	—
Flowering	every 14 days	—	—

Growing notes

Light

Full sun gives sturdy stems and the most flowers; in shade growth is weak and floppy with few or no flowers. It copes with exposed, windy sites.

Soil

Well-drained, moderately fertile soil, neutral to slightly alkaline; sandy or gravelly soils suit it. Rich soil makes it flop, and soil that stays wet in winter can rot the roots and crown.

Care

Plant in spring or early autumn and water for the first few months; after that it lives on rainfall, except in pots, which need regular watering. Little or no feeding. For compact plants that do not flop, cut the stems back by half in late May (the "Chelsea chop"). Leave the dead flower heads for winter structure and cut the old stems to the ground in spring as new shoots appear. Divide in spring or root summer stem cuttings; even a single leaf can root. Vine weevil may attack the roots, especially in containers; slugs, aphids and scale insects appear now and then.

Pests and diseases of Showy stonecrop

2 problems are recorded for showy stonecrop; each has a page with symptoms, treatment and prevention.

Pests

Other plants of the Crassulaceae family

Showy stonecrop belongs to Crassulaceae; 4 other plants of this family have a guide here.

Plant lists it is in

Cold-hardy crops for early spring

Part of: Garden flowers · Perennial garden flowers

Sources

Figures checked against these sources.