Chocolate Drop Stonecrop

Other Names: Autumn Stonecrop, Showy Stonecrop

Description:

An exceptional perennial featuring rich chocolaty-brown foliage all season long and showy rose-pink flowers that emerge from lavender buds in summer; incredibly showy in a mass planting, prefers poor soils and dry conditions

Ornamental Features:

Chocolate Drop Stonecrop features beautiful clusters of rose star-shaped flowers at the ends of the stems from early summer to early fall, which emerge from distinctive lavender flower buds, and which are most effective when planted in groupings. The flowers are excellent for cutting. It's attractive large succulent round leaves emerge burgundy in spring, turning dark brown in colour throughout the season. The fruit is not ornamentally significant. The deep purple stems are very effective and add winter interest.

Landscape Attributes:

Chocolate Drop Stonecrop is a dense herbaceous perennial with an upright spreading habit of growth. Its relatively coarse texture can be used to stand it apart from other garden plants with finer foliage.

This is a relatively low maintenance perennial, and is best cleaned up in early spring before it resumes active growth for the season. It is a good choice for attracting butterflies to your yard, but is not particularly attractive to deer who tend to leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Chocolate Drop Stonecrop is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• General Garden Use
• Mass Planting
• Groundcover
• Border Edging
• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• Container Planting

Plant Characteristics:

Chocolate Drop Stonecrop will grow to be about 10 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 20 inches. It grows at a fast rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 15 years.

This perennial does best in full sun to partial shade. It is very adaptable to both dry and moist growing conditions, but will not tolerate any standing water. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for a low-water garden or xeriscape application. It is not particular as to soil pH, but grows best in poor soils, and is able to handle environmental salt. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This plant can be propagated by division.

This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid.