Stonecrop (Hylotelephium telephium 'Matrona')
Hylotelephium telephium 'Matrona' (Stonecrop) offers upright, bronze-tinged foliage and pastel pink summer blooms. Easy, drought-tolerant perennial.
Complete Plant Information
Overview
Hylotelephium telephium ‘Matrona’, known commonly as Stonecrop, is a highly valued succulent perennial celebrated for its strong upright architecture. It features fleshy, bronze-tinged, gray-green leaves that transition into stunning masses of pastel pink flowers later in the season. This robust plant provides color when many other perennials have finished, making it an outstanding late-season addition to the garden.
This cultivar offers supreme resilience, thriving in conditions that challenge less sturdy plants. Its preference for dry, average soils and full sun ensures low maintenance, provided drainage is excellent. The persistence of this vigorous plant has earned it common names like “live-forever.”
The strong stems of Hylotelephium telephium ‘Matrona’ maintain their structure, creating vase-shaped clumps that are excellent specimen plants or reliable border fill. Whether used in rock gardens or mixed borders, this Stonecrop truly earns its reputation as an enduring, beautiful, and practical choice for gardeners across many USDA zones.
Fast Facts
- Plant Family: Crassulaceae
- Plant Type: Herbaceous perennial
- Hardiness Zones: USDA Zones 3-9
- Size at Maturity:
- Height: 2-2.5 ft
- Spread: 1.5-2 ft
- Bloom Time: August to October
- Bloom Description: Pastel pink
- Sun Exposure: Full sun
- Water Needs: Dry to medium
- Maintenance Level: Low
How to Grow
Plant Hylotelephium telephium ‘Matrona’ in spring or fall, ensuring location meets its need for full sun exposure. Optimal success is achieved in average, well-drained soils, particularly those that are sandy or gravelly with moderate to low fertility. Avoid overly rich soils, as rich soil combined with excessive shade can cause this Stonecrop to become weak and floppy, compromising its upright habit.
Watering requirements are minimal once established. This plant is highly drought tolerant and prefers dry to medium conditions. Plants established in hot climates benefit from some light afternoon shade, though too much shade consistently will result in poor performance and weak stems. Good soil drainage is non-negotiable for long-term health.
Maintenance for Hylotelephium telephium ‘Matrona’ is wonderfully low. Minimal pruning is usually required, though cutting back dead flower heads in late winter can clean up the appearance. Divide clumps in the spring if the center begins to thin out, or propagate easily during the summer using stem cuttings. In fact, individual detached leaves can successfully root to form new plants, showcasing the vigor of this Stonecrop.
Landscape Uses
The robust, upright structure and late-season blooms make this Stonecrop highly useful across various landscape designs. It performs beautifully when massed in large rock gardens or along border fronts where its height can anchor neighboring, shorter perennials. Consider using Hylotelephium telephium ‘Matrona’ as a specimen plant, allowing its vase shape to develop fully.
Containers are another excellent application, provided the potting mix ensures sharp drainage—a requirement shared by all Sedum/Hylotelephium types. When planting, pair it with companions that appreciate similar dry, sunny conditions, such as ornamental grasses, Russian Sage, or other drought-tolerant coneflowers.
As the flowers age to a burgundy brown, the dried flower heads persist into winter, offering texture and visual warmth when the garden is dormant. This extended interest makes Hylotelephium telephium ‘Matrona’ a great choice for four-season structure.
Standout Features
Flower Qualities
- Showy
Noteworthy Characteristics
Hylotelephium telephium, commonly known as stonecrop, orpine or live-forever, is a succulent herbaceous perennial which typically grows in an upright to semi-upright mound on unbranched stems rising to 18-24” tall. It is often hybridized with a similar upright species known as Hylotelephium spectabile (e.G., see H. AUTUMN JOY), but is primarily distinguished from H. Spectabile by its alternate leaves. It features fleshy, flat, coarsely-toothed, dull green to blue-green leaves, fleshy stems, and tiny, star-like, pink to reddish purple flowers that bloom in dense, rounded flower heads from late summer to frost. The cultivar ‘Matrona’ typically grows taller, up to 30” atop shiny, purplish-red stems clad with fleshy, succulent, bronze-tinged leaves, providing effective foliage throughout the season.
Tolerances
- Drought
- Dry Soil
- Shallow-Rocky Soil
Potential Problems
Hylotelephium telephium ‘Matrona’ generally resists serious insect or disease issues, which contributes greatly to its low maintenance appeal. However, under certain conditions, gardeners may observe minor pest activity.
Pests such as slugs, scale, mealybugs, nematodes, aphids, and weevils can occasionally appear. If slugs or weevils are present, ensuring the plant is not overcrowded and maintaining good air circulation can help manage populations. For scale or mealybugs, horticultural oils applied during the dormant season can effectively control hidden infestations.
Frequently Asked Questions
What hardiness zones is Stonecrop suitable for?
Hylotelephium telephium ‘Matrona’ is quite adaptable and is reliably hardy across long stretches of the country, suitable for USDA Zones 3 through 9.
How large does Stonecrop grow?
This cultivar typically reaches a mature height between 2 and 2.5 feet tall, spreading to between 1.5 and 2 feet wide, creating a substantial, upright display.
What sun exposure does Hylotelephium telephium ‘Matrona’ need?
This Stonecrop requires full sun for the best, most compact growth. Too much shade can lead to weak and floppy stems that flop over.
When does Hylotelephium telephium ‘Matrona’ bloom?
You can expect masses of pastel pink flowers from this perennial beginning in August and continuing through October, providing excellent late-season color.
Conclusion
Stonecrop remains a staple for reliable garden performance due to its drought tolerance, low maintenance needs, and superb late-season flower show. Hylotelephium telephium ‘Matrona’ is exceptionally easy to propagate and maintain, ensuring a long life in your landscape. Before planting, confirm your site offers excellent drainage and sufficient sunlight to harness the full, sturdy beauty of this exceptional perennial.
Companion Planting
When designing a border utilizing Hylotelephium telephium ‘Matrona’, focus on plants that share its love of sharp drainage and full sun. Look for Mediterranean plants or natives adapted to drier sites. This allows you to create a tapestry of texture without worrying about overwatering adjacent species.
Consider pairing the robust structure of the Stonecrop with silvery foliage plants like Artemisia ‘Powis Castle’ or delicate spires of Russian Sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia). These companions offer contrasting leaf texture and bloom periods, ensuring continuous interest leading up to and following the Stonecrop’s pastel pink display.
For a truly naturalistic look reminiscent of its native rocky habitats, incorporate ornamental grasses with fine textures, such as Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium). These combinations provide movement and sound that complement the more static, fleshy form of the Hylotelephium.
Propagation Tips
Hylotelephium telephium ‘Matrona’ is exceptionally easy to multiply, making it ideal for gardeners looking to expand plantings economically. The most common and reliable method is division, which should be performed in early spring before new growth fully emerges. Dig up clumps and gently separate the root masses, replanting healthy sections immediately into prepared soil.
For summer propagation, healthy stem cuttings are highly effective. Snip sections of stem about 3-4 inches long, removing the lower leaves, slightly drying the cut end for a few hours out of direct sun, and then planting directly into a well-draining, shallow propagation mix. Keep the cuttings consistently moist but never wet until roots form.
One of the most remarkable propagation features of this Stonecrop is its ability to generate new plants from leaves. Simply detach a healthy, fallen leaf and press the base slightly into loose, dry soil; new roots and tiny rosettes will form over several weeks without additional intervention, truly living up to its ‘live-forever’ name.
