Stonecrop 'Blue Pearl'

Stonecrop 'Blue Pearl' (Hylotelephium 'Blue Pearl', SunSparkler Series) lives up to its name. The fleshy rounded leaves carry a smoky purple tone with a greenish undertone and a light waxy bloom, and the more sun they get, the deeper and darker that colour grows by late summer.

From June to August dense clusters of bright pink star-shaped flowers open above the dark cushion. Plant it in a rock garden, on a dry sunny slope, in a container or at the front of a border: once established it shrugs off drought, but it forgives neither shade nor standing water.

Key characteristics:

• What makes it special: The more sun the little cushion gets, the darker its smoky purple foliage turns, and in summer bright pink flower clusters flare above it.
• Dimensions: At maturity (2-5 years) it forms a clump 0.5-1 m tall and just as wide.
• Flowering: From June to August it lights up with bright pink star-shaped flowers gathered in dense clusters.
• Light: Give it full sun: that is where it keeps its colour and shape, while in shade the leaves turn green and the clump falls open.
• Soil: Takes readily to a moderately fertile, well-drained neutral to slightly alkaline soil - chalk, loam or sand.
• Watering: Water moderately; once established it is drought-tolerant, and the one thing it dislikes is water standing at the roots.
• Care: Mulch in early spring and late autumn, and if needed shorten the shoots by half at the end of May.
• Landscape use: Holds the front of a border, and suits city and patio gardens, cottage plantings and rockeries.
• Origin: A SunSparkler Series cultivar from the American breeder Chris Hansen, protected by PBR.