# Orpine plant: how to grow, identify and care for it

> Orpine (Hylotelephium telephium) is a native succulent, 25 to 60 cm tall, with purple-red flowers. How to identify, plant, care for it and what it costs.

Canonical: https://tuinontwerp.app/en/blog/orpine-plant
Last updated: 2026-09-28

*Hylotelephium telephium*

![One clump of orpine alone in a bed in front of a fence, in August, with thick light green to blue-green toothed leaves and dense clusters of purple-red flowers](https://tuinontwerp.app/images/blog/hemelsleutel-3ad879d8.webp)

Published: 2026-09-28

Orpine (Hylotelephium telephium) is a native succulent plant, 25 to 60
centimetres tall. Unbranched stems carry thick, light green to
blue-green leaves. From June to September, dense clusters of small
purple-red star-shaped flowers open on top. The plant wants full sun and
soil that drains well.

## Orpine at a glance

| Feature | Orpine |
| --- | --- |
| Height | 0.25 to 0.6 m |
| Spread | Up to 0.5 m per clump |
| Full grown after | 2 to 5 years |
| Sun | Full sun |
| Soil | Free-draining, preferably not fertilised |
| Water | Little: copes well with drought |
| Maintenance | Low: one cutback in spring |
| Flowers | June to September, purple-red to pink |
| For bees | Yes: plenty of nectar, July to September |
| Hay fever | Not or weakly allergenic |
| Leaves | Drop in autumn |
| Hardy | Yes |
| Native | Yes |
| Poisonous | No: not known to be a risk |
| Pricks or stings | No |
| Price, young | About €3.50 to €4.61 per plant, young in a small pot |
| Price, grown | Not for sale |

- **Leaf**: April to October
- **Flower**: June to September
- **Fruit**: no noticeable fruit

![A shoot tip of orpine in June, with thick light green to blue-green leaves set alternately on the stem, with a coarsely toothed edge and red tips on the teeth](https://tuinontwerp.app/images/blog/hemelsleutel-leaf-b344be1b.webp)
*Leaf*

![The flowering top of an orpine in August, with a couple of dense, rounded clusters of small purple-red star-shaped flowers and pale buds on reddish stalks](https://tuinontwerp.app/images/blog/hemelsleutel-bloom-433f1d3a.webp)
*Flower*

## How do you recognise orpine?

Start with the leaves. Each leaf is thick, fleshy and hairless, 5 to 8
centimetres long. The colour ranges from light green to blue-green. The
edge is coarsely scalloped or toothed, sometimes smooth too. Along the
stem the leaves sit one at a time, though it can look as if they stand in
pairs.

> **Did you know?**
>
> Orpine takes in carbon dioxide mostly at night. During the day, the tiny
> openings in its leaves stay shut. The gas is then stored as malic acid
> inside the fleshy leaf.

The stems are unbranched. They stand upright or curve upward in an arch.
At the top sits a dense cluster of many flowers, each 0.8 to 1 centimetre
wide. Each flower has five petals in a star shape. Ripe fruit is rarely
seen.

Garden centres also sell ice plant (Hylotelephium spectabile), a species
from China and Korea. Look at the leaves and flowers to tell them apart.
Ice plant has broad, shallowly scalloped leaves and bright pink flowers in
flat clusters up to 15 centimetres wide.

## Where does orpine grow best?

Orpine belongs in full sun. Such a spot gets more than six hours of direct
sunlight a day around midsummer. The soil can be dry or moist, as long as
water drains through it well. Chalky or neutral soil suits it fine. In the
wild, the plant grows on verges, dyke slopes and along railway tracks.

Avoid these spots for orpine:

- **Soil that stays wet for a long time.** The base and roots can then
  rot.
- **A richly fertilised border.** Too much feeding makes the stems weak,
  and they fall over.

In autumn, orpine dies back above ground. If you leave the dead stems and
their flower heads, the border keeps its shape through winter. Animals
then find food and shelter there. If you cut them away in autumn, only
bare soil remains until spring.

![A border in front of a wooden fence in two halves: on the left in August a wide clump of flowering orpine with purple-red clusters, on the right the same border in January with bare soil, with a box ball at each end](https://tuinontwerp.app/images/blog/hemelsleutel-1-1b3915a2.webp)
*The same border in August and in January, with the dead stems cut away in autumn. This is a generated image, not a photograph.*

A full-grown clump is at most half a metre wide, so it also fits at the
front of a narrow border. On the plan of your plot, the app draws orpine
at a grown plant's width, not at pot size.

## Planting and caring for orpine

The best times to plant are autumn, while the soil is still warm, and
spring. Nurseries sell the wild species as a young plant in a small pot.
Such a potted plant can also go into the ground outside those months, as
long as it is not freezing and the soil is not waterlogged. Dig a hole
just as deep and wide as the rootball. Then water generously, even if the
soil already feels moist.

Plan on nine plants per square metre, which means just over 30 centimetres
between two plants. On planting day that looks sparse. After a few years,
the clumps grow into each other. Keep the soil moist in the first year.
After that, orpine manages on rainwater alone.

| When | What to do |
| --- | --- |
| Early spring | Cut last year's dead stems back to the ground, before the new shoots appear |
| Late May, if you want | Cut new stems back by half, for a lower clump that flops open less |

Many birds breed from March through July, and some species continue into
August. Before you cut, check between the stems for a nest first.

## What can go wrong?

**There are few or no flowers.** Its spot is too dark, or it is getting
too much feed. Move the clump to a sunny spot in spring, and stop feeding
it.

**A potted plant grows poorly and hangs limp.** Vine weevil larvae may be
feeding on the roots. That damage mostly happens to plants in pots.

**The leaves are suddenly stripped bare.** Look for small caterpillars on
the plant. These may be caterpillars of the orpine ermine. A healthy plant
recovers from this and often grows new leaves the same year. So leave the
caterpillars alone.

## Which insects and birds use orpine?

Orpine is the host plant of the orpine ermine (Yponomeuta sedella), a moth
from the small ermine group. The caterpillars of this moth eat the fleshy
leaves.

In summer, the flowers give plenty of nectar. Which bees, butterflies and
moths visit this wild species is not well described. No bird that uses
orpine is known by name either.

## Is orpine poisonous or edible?

Orpine is not known to be poisonous: no risk has been described. That says
nothing about eating it, because edibility is a separate question. The
leaves count as edible, raw or cooked. The root is only edible when
cooked.

The photos on this page were made with AI, based on real photos and descriptions of this plant.

## Frequently asked questions

### How tall does orpine grow?

Usually 25 to 60 centimetres. A clump grows at most half a metre wide.

### How much sun does orpine need?

Full sun: a spot that gets more than six hours of direct sunlight a day around midsummer. In too much shade, the stems become weak and few flowers appear.

### When do you cut back orpine?

Early in spring, last year's dead stems are cut back to the ground. If you want a lower, sturdier clump, cut the new stems back by half in late May.

### Is orpine poisonous?

No, no risk is known. That does not automatically mean the plant is edible.

### How is orpine different from ice plant?

Ice plant (Hylotelephium spectabile) is a different species, originally from China and Korea. Its leaves are broad and shallowly scalloped, and its pink flowers sit in flat clusters up to 15 centimetres wide. Wild orpine is native to the Netherlands.

## Sources

- [Duistermaat, Sparrius & Denters, Standaardlijst van de Nederlandse flora 2020 (Gorteria 43)](https://natuurtijdschriften.nl/pub/1019223)
- [NDFF Verspreidingsatlas — Hylotelephium telephium](https://www.verspreidingsatlas.nl/2358)
- [NDFF Verspreidingsatlas — Roze hemelsleutel](https://www.verspreidingsatlas.nl/5513)
- [Flora van Nederland — Hemelsleutel](https://www.floravannederland.nl/planten/hemelsleutel)
- [Wilde planten in Nederland en België — Hemelsleutel](https://wilde-planten.nl/hemelsleutel.htm)
- [RHS — Hylotelephium telephium](https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/159312/hylotelephium-telephium/details)
- [RHS — Hylotelephium spectabile](https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/159311/hylotelephium-spectabile/details)
- [RHS — How to grow hylotelephium](https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/hylotelephium/growing-guide)
- [RHS — Shade gardening (definities zon en schaduw)](https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=934)
- [RHS — Perennials: planting](https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/types/perennials/planting)
- [RHS — Perennials: cutting back](https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/types/perennials/cutting-back)
- [PFAF — Sedum telephium](https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Sedum+telephium)
- [Pollennieuws / Flora van Nederland — Aandachtspunten hooikoorts vriendelijke tuin](https://www.pollennieuws.nl/post/?permalink=aandachtspunten-hooikoorts-vriendelijke-tuin)
- [Imkerpedia — Drachtplanten](https://www.imkerpedia.nl/wiki/index.php/Drachtplanten)
- [De Vlinderstichting — Stippelmotten pakken bomen in](https://vlinderstichting.nl/stippelmotten-pakken-bomen-in/)
- [Vogelbescherming — Snoeien in het broedseizoen, mag dat?](https://www.vogelbescherming.nl/actueel/bericht/snoeien-in-het-broedseizoen-mag-dat)
- [Arjan Schepers Vaste Planten — Hylotelephium telephium subsp. maximum (prijs, plantdichtheid)](https://www.arjanschepers.nl/plantenwinkel/vaste-planten/hylotelephium-telephium-subsp-maximum/)
- [De Cruydt-Hoeck — Hemelsleutel (prijs)](https://www.cruydthoeck.nl/hemelsleutel-hylotelephium-telephium)
- [Wikimedia Commons — Leaf: photo by AnRo0002 (CC0)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:20170623Hylotelephium_telephium1.jpg)
- [Wikimedia Commons — Flower: photo by Averater (CC BY 4.0)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sedum_telephium_GotBot_2015_002.jpg)

## Read next

- [Wild marjoram: where it grows, care, flowers and price](https://tuinontwerp.app/en/blog/wild-marjoram) - Wild marjoram (Origanum vulgare) is a native perennial, 30 cm to 1 m tall, with pink flowers from July to September. How to plant it and how to look after it. (2026-09-28)
- [Tansy plant: recognise it, grow it, keep it in check](https://tuinontwerp.app/en/blog/tansy-plant) - Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) is a native perennial 60 to 120 cm tall with yellow button flowers. How to recognise, plant and care for it, and what it costs. (2026-09-28)
- [Field scabious: planting, care, bees and price](https://tuinontwerp.app/en/blog/field-scabious) - Field scabious (Knautia arvensis) is a native perennial 30 cm to 1 m tall that flowers from June to September. Where it fits, what it costs, how to plant it. (2026-09-28)
- [More about sun and meadow](https://tuinontwerp.app/en/blog/category/plants/vaste-planten/zon-en-bloemenweide)