Description
Hylotelephium spectabile is a species of the stonecrop family (Crassulaceae). It comes from China and Korea and has also spread to Japan. In Poland it is cultivated and very rarely escapes. Some taxonomic treatments included it in the genus Sedum, which is why garden literature often describes it as Sedum spectabile.
The stem is upright, straight, thick, fleshy, smooth and unbranched, 30–50 cm tall.
The leaves are alternate, large, light green, fleshy, oval with toothed edges and covered with a bluish bloom. They have a wedge-shaped base and a short stalk.
The flowers are gathered in a flat head at the top of the stem. They are pink to dark red, and in some garden varieties white. The spreading petals are 3–5 mm long. It flowers from August to September.
It is fairly commonly grown here for its attractive habit, beautiful flowers and light green stems that combine well with other plants. It is suitable for rock gardens, walls, banks, graves and path edges. It can also be grown in boxes on balconies and terraces. Its underground parts do not freeze, so pots can stay on the balcony over winter.
Requirements
It has no special soil requirements and grows well even in poor soils. As a succulent it is also very drought-tolerant. It needs plenty of light, but can also grow in partial shade, where it develops and flowers more weakly.
Propagation
It is propagated from cuttings in spring and summer, and also by dividing clumps.
Care
The main care task is loosening the soil around the plant so that a hard crust does not form. In winter the above-ground shoots die back, but in spring the plant regrows from its underground roots and shoots.