How big does Goldmoss stonecrop grow?

About 10 cm × 60 cm after ten years (height × width). Its ultimate size is 3–10 cm × 30–60 cm.

What soil does Goldmoss stonecrop grow in?

It tolerates these soils: sandy, calcareous, average garden soil.

Is Goldmoss stonecrop hardy?

Hardy down to -34 °C (USDA zone 4, RHS H7). It gets through winter in every part of the country.

Is Goldmoss stonecrop toxic to children?

Yes, it is mildly toxic to children.

When does Goldmoss stonecrop flower?

Flowering: May–August, yellow.

How much water does Goldmoss stonecrop need?

Water need: low. Drought tolerance: high.

Goldmoss stonecrop

Sedum acre

Goldmoss stonecrop (Sedum acre) is a ground cover plant that reaches 10 cm × 60 cm after ten years. Light: full sun, part shade. Hardy down to -34 °C. Drought tolerance: high. Mildly toxic to children.

Illustration of Goldmoss stonecrop — An illustration of the typical shape of the mature plant, not a photo.

What it's good for, and what it isn't

A tiny, moss-like evergreen succulent that forms a carpet only a few centimetres high and is smothered in golden-yellow starry flowers in early summer. It belongs in the driest, poorest, sunniest spots: rock gardens, wall tops, gravel and gaps in paving, where it lives without watering, but it cannot take standing water. Broken shoots root wherever they land and it also self-seeds, so it readily overruns neighbours of similar height.

Watch out for

It has no serious pests or diseases, though slugs and snails occasionally feed on it. It rots in wet, poorly drained soil. Where it is happy it spreads like a weed, with every small broken piece of stem making a new plant, so keep it away from delicate rock garden plants.

Key facts

Light: Full sun, Part shade
Water need: Low
Care: Low
Size after 10 years: 10 cm × 60 cm
Hardiness: down to -34 °C
Foliage: Evergreen
Flowering: J F M A M J J A S O N D May–August, yellow

All details

Group	Ground cover
Light	Full sun, Part shade
Size after 10 years	10 cm × 60 cm
Ultimate size	3–10 cm × 30–60 cm
Hardiness	down to -34 °C (USDA 4, RHS H7)
Soil	Sandy, Calcareous, Average garden soil
Foliage	Evergreen
Flowering	May–August, yellow
Water need	Low
Drought tolerance	High
Maintenance	Low
Root aggressiveness	Low
Suckering	no
Spreading	High
Distance from buildings	no data
Distance from paving	no data
Litter	not typical
Planting distance	20 cm
For dogs	no data
For cats	no data
For children	Mildly toxic
Typical price	no data

Toxicity data is for information only. If your pet or child has eaten a plant, contact a vet or a doctor.

Frequently asked questions

Data updated: October 17, 2026 · How our data is made

Appears in these lists

Ground cover plants Drought-tolerant plants Drought-tolerant plants for sandy soil Evergreen plants Plants for a Mediterranean garden Rock garden plants

Guide on the topic

Ground cover plants against weeds: which goes where, and how many you need A ground cover keeps weeds out once it has closed up: until then, usually for two or three summers, it needs mulch and weeding. Under trees and in shade, lesser periwinkle, bigroot geranium, barrenwort and barren strawberry do best; in sunny, dry places stonecrops, thymes and creeping junipers. Most perennial ground covers take 9-18 plants per square metre. The tables work out what a square metre costs at today's shop prices in your country.

Building a rock garden: stone, soil and plants step by step A rock garden belongs on a sunny, gentle slope, in lean, free-draining soil: one third garden soil, one third coarse sand, one third crushed stone. Lay the stones, all of one kind, in layers leaning the same way and sunk a third to a half into the ground, so that about two fifths of the surface is stone. Four to six plants per square metre are enough: creeping junipers and grasses make the frame, and between them cushion perennials, stonecrops and thymes flower from March to October.

Looks good next to it

Bluebeard

Caryopteris × clandonensis

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Photinia × fraseri

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Cornus mas