A perennial favourite with bees and butterflies, this plant can be admired in the Autumn Garden.
Raised by the German nurseryman Georg Arends, this plant was released into cultivation in 1955. It has several synonyms, and is also referred to as S. telephium ‘Herbstfreude’, and Hylotelephium x mottramiamum ‘Herbstfreude’, and the cultivar name ‘Autumn Joy’ is also applied. It is a hardy plant, highly valued for reliably flowering in late summer and autumn, when it produces flat corymbs of star-shaped flowers, which are greenish-pink in bud, opening to pale pink and maturing to deep pink. The flowers are held at approximately 60cm aloft fleshy stems and alternate, succulent, toothed leaves. In the garden ‘Herbstfreude’ thrives in a well-drained position in full sun, though it will also cope with light shade. Belonging to the Crassulaceae (stonecrop family) the genus Hylotelephium contains over 30 species from Asia, Europe and North America.