Sedum telephium Touchdown Teak - Autumn Stonecrop

Sedum or Hylotelephium 'Touchdown Teak' is a variety of deciduous stonecrop that impresses with its excellent performance and rather fantastic colours. This perennial forms a lovely clump of red stems adorned with very dark purple leaves on which bouquets of deep pink flowers bloom in late summer. The flowering period is long and popular with butterflies. It is a hardy and low-maintenance plant that thrives in dry and shallow soils, adding charm to rock gardens and container plantings.

'Touchdown Teak' autumn stonecrop belongs to the Crassulaceae family. It is a selected cultivar from the 'Touchdown' series bred in the U.S.A in 2014 by Egger. This plant is derived from Sedum telephium, now renamed Hylotelephium telephium, originally from the Caucasus and China. 'Touchdown Teak' forms upright clumps with a slightly spreading habit that does not collapse under the weight of its flowers. The plant reaches a height of approximately 35 to 40cm (14 to 16in) with a diameter of 40 to 50cm (16 to 20in). Flowering occurs in August-September, sometimes extending into October depending on the climate. The inflorescences are terminal cymes that are rounded and densely packed. The tiny star-shaped flowers are dark pink, emerging from red buds and fading to antique rose. They form nectar-rich and honey-bearing false umbels. The deciduous foliage is thick, fleshy, and shiny, and displays shades of deep purple to brown. It creates a beautiful harmony with the red colour of the stems and the flowers. The leaves are relatively small, elongated to ovate, with barely dentate margins. The decorative brown-violet seeds provide food for birds in winter.

Perfect for areas in the garden with thin soil, Hylotelephium 'Touchdown Teak' is highly drought-resistant. It can be planted in rockeries, raised beds, above a wall, or in a container. Pair it with drought-tolerant grasses, drought-resistant Euphorbias, and grey-leaved plants that thrive in these challenging conditions (Tanacetum haradjanii, for example.). You can create a unique scene by combining it with Aster 'Little Carlow' or colourful-leaved heucheras. Its sculptural appearance is stunning in containers. Its flowers are also ideal dried or in fresh floral bouquets.