Stonecrop 'SunSparkler Firecracker'

Stonecrop 'Firecracker' (Hylotelephium 'Firecracker', SunSparkler Series) is a ground-cover cultivar. Its small fleshy leaves hold a cherry-red colour from April to November and form a dense, tidy mat that neither flops open nor greens over, as other stonecrops tend to do.

In late summer, through August and September, pink flower heads about 10 cm across flare above the dark foliage - the very firework the cultivar is named for. The plant is only 15-20 cm tall and 30-45 cm wide, lower and denser than tall stonecrops such as 'Herbstfreude', and it holds the front of a border, a rock garden or a sunny container.

Key characteristics:

• What makes it special: The succulent foliage tempts neither deer nor rabbits, so the little cushion stays intact even in a garden beside woodland.
• Dimensions: 15-20 cm tall and 30-45 cm wide at maturity (2-5 years).
• Hardiness: Overwinters outdoors and withstands down to -34.4 °C (USDA zone 4).
• Flowering: In August-September pink corymb-like heads about 10 cm across open up.
• Light: Plant in full sun: there the clump keeps its shape, while in shade the shoots stretch and flop open.
• Soil: Takes readily to lean or moderately fertile sandy-gravelly soil with good drainage, neutral to slightly alkaline.
• Watering: Dry to moderate watering - once established the cultivar takes both drought and heat in its stride.
• Care: Almost no care needed: after flowering cut the shoots back or leave the heads standing through winter.
• Landscape use: Adorns city and patio gardens, containers, cottage plantings and the front of flower borders.
• Origin: A cultivar from the American breeder Chris Hansen, originator of the SunSparkler Series, protected by US patent PP26595 (2016).