Common Name:
Showy Stonecrop
Ice Plant
Description:
Sedum spectabile is a hardy, upright succulent perennial grown for its fleshy blue-green foliage and broad heads of soft pink, star-shaped flowers that appear from late summer into autumn. This classic stonecrop variety brings strong structure and reliable late-season colour to the garden, making it an excellent choice for borders, gravel gardens, cottage plantings, rockeries, and decorative pots. In Melbourne, it performs best in a full sun position with sharply drained soil and is particularly useful in low-water garden designs where its succulent leaves and sturdy stems provide both texture and resilience. The large flower heads are highly attractive to bees and other pollinators and remain ornamental well after flowering. Once established, Sedum spectabile is drought tolerant and low maintenance, with old stems best cut back in winter or early spring as fresh growth emerges. It is an excellent plant for adding bold form and seasonal interest to Australian gardens.
Form:
• Shrub - Small
• Shrub - Clumping / Grass-like / Mounding
Mature Size:
• Height: 40–60 cm
• Width: 40–60 cm
Aspect:
• Full Sun
Flowering:
• Flowers in Summer
• Flowers in Autumn
Flower Colour:
• Soft pink
• Rose pink
• Mauve-pink
Key Attributes:
• Suitable for Pots
• Bee Attracting
• Herbaceous
• Perennial
• Drought tolerant once established
• Suitable for rockeries
• Suitable for borders
• Succulent foliage
• Architectural form
• Low maintenance
• Suitable for pollinator gardens
• Frost tolerant once established
• Suitable for coastal gardens
• Suitable for cut flowers
• May rot in poorly drained soil
Toxicity:
Not generally considered toxic to humans or pets. As with most ornamental plants, ingestion may still cause mild stomach upset if consumed in quantity.
Companion Plants:
• Salvia
• Echinacea
• Achillea
• Verbena bonariensis
• Nepeta
• Pennisetum
• Gaura
• Perovskia (Russian Sage)
