General Plant Information (Edit)
Plant Habit: Cactus/Succulent
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Minimum cold hardiness: Zone 5a -28.9 °C (-20 °F) to -26.1 °C (-15 °F)
Leaves: Evergreen
Semi-evergreen
Deciduous
Other: Depending on winter conditions.
Flowers: Showy
Flower Color: White
Bloom Size: Under 1"
Flower Time: Summer
Suitable Locations: Xeriscapic
Uses: Suitable for miniature gardens
Propagation: Other methods: Offsets
Containers: Needs excellent drainage in pots
Miscellaneous: Monocarpic

Image
Common names
  • Dunce's Cap
  • Chinese Dunce's Cap
  • Iwarenge
Botanical names
  • Accepted: Orostachys iwarenge
  • Synonym: Sedum iwarenge
  • Synonym: Orostachys iwarenge var. albovariegata
  • Synonym: Orostachys iwarenge var. aureomarginata
  • Synonym: Orostachys iwarenge var. luteomedia
  • Synonym: Orostachys iwarenge var. albomarginata
  • Synonym: Orostachys malacophylla var. iwarenge
  • Synonym: Orostachys iwarenge var. magna
  • Synonym: Orostachys chongsunensis

Photo Gallery
Location: South Jordan, Utah, United States
Date: 2018-09-09
Location: My garden, zone 4 Wisconsin
Date: 2013-09-20
Location: My garden, zone 4 Wisconsin
Date: 2014-06-25
Location: Cowell's garden centre, Newcastle UK
Date: 2018-09-22
Location: Pacific Northwest
Date: 2011-10-08
Location: NYC Zone 7b
Date: 2013-10-12
Location: My garden, zone 4 Wisconsin
Date: 2013-09-22
Location: Fairfax, Virginia (Outdoors)
Location: South Jordan, Utah, United States
Date: 2018-10-01
Location: South Jordan, Utah, United States
Date: 2018-11-05
Location: Willamette Valley Oregon
Date: 9/12/14
Location: Bellevue, WA
Date: 10/16/2015
Orostachys iwarenge - close up of blooms
Location: Primorsky Kraj, Russia
Date: 1999
Chinese Dunce's Cap (Orostachys iwarenge). Wild plant in natural
Location: Primorsky Kraj, Russia
Date: 1999
Chinese Dunce's Cap (Orostachys iwarenge). Wild plants in natural
Location: Beautiful Tennessee 
Date: June 12,  2015
my first one
Photo by sedumzz
Photo by sedumzz
Photo by TJWright333
Location: Arvada, Colorado zone 5
Date: Sep 23, 2011
Location: Pacific Northwest, zone 8
Date: Jun 2, 2012
Location: Pacific Northwest, zone 8
Date: Jun 13, 2012
Location: Pacific Northwest, zone 8
Date: Jun 13, 2012
Photo by sedumzz
Location: Fairfax, VA | September, 2023
Date: 2023-09-15
Location: Green Spring Gardens (Outdoors, Northern Virginia)
Date: Late winter (almost 2021)
Cute lil dormant clump
Location: Fairfax, Virginia (Outdoors)
Photo by ljones26
Location: Western Washington
Date: 2020-06-14

Photo courtesy of Annie's Annuals and Perennials
Location: Bellevue, WA
Date: 10/16/2015
Orostachys iwarenge - entire plant in garden
Location: Fairfax, Virginia (Outdoors)
Location: My garden, zone 4 Wisconsin
Date: 2013-10-16
Location: My garden, zone 4 Wisconsin
Date: 2013-10-16
Location: Ruhlig Greenhouses, Taylor, MI
Date: 2014-05-25
Location: Pacific Northwest, zone 8
Date: Sep 14, 2012
Location: Pacific Northwest, zone 8
Date: Jun 2, 2012
Photo by sedumzz
Location: Pacific Northwest, zone 8
Date: 2015-08-31
Location: Beautiful Tennessee, my garden
Date: 7-18-2017
growing good
Location: Pacific Northwest, zone 8
Date: 2014-09-06
Location: Massachusetts garden
Date: Oct. 15, 2018
In autumn rosettes "hunker down" and take on pink and blue colora
Location: Primorsky Kraj, Russia
Date: 2001
Chinese Dunce's Cap (Orostachys iwarenge). Wild plant in natural
Location: Primorsky Kraj, Russia
Date: 2001
Chinese Dunce's Cap (Orostachys iwarenge). Wild plant in natural
Location: Willamette Valley Oregon
Date: 2009-05-22
Location: Fairfax, Virginia (Outdoors)
Location: Washington
Date: 2016-07-24
Location: South Jordan, Utah, United States
Date: 2018-05-23
Photo by sedumzz
Photo by sedumzz
Location: At Annie's Annuals Nursery
Date: Sep 14, 2008 11:46 AM
Location: Pacific Northwest
Date: Jul 22, 2011 4:27 PM
Photo by sedumzz
Location: Massachusetts garden
Date: July 9, 2018
Plants naturalizing on a large moss-covered rock outcrop.
Photo by sedumzz

Photo courtesy of Annie's Annuals and Perennials
Photo by sedumzz
Location: Fairfax, VA | June, 2023
Date: 2023-06-24
Photo by sedumzz
Location: Fairfax, Virginia (Outdoors)
Location: Zone 7A NC
Date: 2012-02-24
Location: Primorsky Kraj, Russia
Date: 2001
Chinese Dunce's Cap (Orostachys iwarenge). Wild plant in natural
Location: Primorsky Kraj, Russia
Date: 2001
Chinese Dunce's Cap (Orostachys iwarenge). Wild plant in natural
Location: Beautiful Tennessee, my garden
Date: 2017-09-24
Location: Beautiful Tennessee, my garden
Date: 2017-11-06
Photo by sedumzz
Location: Beautiful Tennessee, my garden
Date: 2017-11-06
Location: My Garden
Date: 2023-05-25
Location: At Annie's Annuals Nursery
Date: Sep 14, 2008 11:46 AM
Location: Allentown, Pennsylvania
Date: 2015-05-20
doing its chaotic-pup spring thing at the base of some sedum
Location: My garden, zone 4 Wisconsin
Date: 2013-05-28
Location: Allentown, Pennsylvania
Date: 2012-10-14
Location: Pacific Northwest
Date: May 22, 2011 2:34 PM
Location: Pacific Northwest, zone 8
Date: May 5, 2012
Coming out of dormancy.

The best 2021 growing season Semp/Orostachys
Location: My back Yard
Date: April 21, 2013 in Long Beach CA
Orostachys iwarenge / Chinese Dunce Cap
Photo by sedumzz
Location: Ruhlig Greenhouses, Taylor, MI
Date: 2014-05-25
Location: DISCLAIMER: This is an old photo from an old phone. I don't know why, but the photos look "deep fried". sorry about that.
Location: NYC Zone 7b
Date: 2013-10-12
Location: NYC Zone 7b
Date: 2013-10-12
Photo by sedumzz

Photo Courtesy of Mountain Crest Gardens. Used with Permission.
  • Uploaded by Joy
Location: Primorsky Kraj, Russia
Date: 2001
Chinese Dunce's Cap (Orostachys iwarenge). Wild plant in natural
Location: Primorsky Kraj, Russia
Date: 2001
Chinese Dunce's Cap (Orostachys iwarenge). Wild plant in natural
Location: Fairfax, VA | May, 2023
Date: 2023-05-15
Location: South Jordan, Utah, United States
Date: 2018-10-02
Location: Fairfax, VA | September 2022
Date: 2022-09-11
very large
Photo by sedumzz
Location: Ruhlig Greenhouses, Taylor, MI
Date: 2014-05-25
Location: DISCLAIMER: This is an old photo from an old phone. I don't know why, but the photos look "deep fried". sorry about that.
Location: Fairfax, Virginia (Outdoors)
Location: South Jordan, Utah, United States
Date: 2018-05-25
Location: Pacific Northwest, zone 8
Date: Feb 14, 2012 
Just coming out of dormancy
Photo by sedumzz
Location: Fairfax VA
Date: August 10
Location: Salem, Oregon
Photo courtesy of Perennial Obsessions.
Location: Salem, Oregon
Photo courtesy of Perennial Obsessions.
Location: Fairfax, VA | March, 2023
Date: 2023-03-25
Location: Ruhlig Greenhouses, Taylor, MI
Date: 2014-05-25
Location: Ruhlig Greenhouses, Taylor, MI
Date: 2014-05-25
Location: Fairfax, VA | July, 2022
Date: 2022-07-15

Photo courtesy of Annie's Annuals and Perennials
  • Uploaded by Joy
This plant is tagged in:
Image Image Image Image Image Image Image Image Image Image Image Image Image Image Image

Comments:
  • Posted by Rhapsody616 (Long Beach Ca USA - Zone 10a) on Apr 21, 2013 9:50 PM concerning plant:
    Beautiful rosettes of blue-grey foliage are borne on the ends of short stems, with smaller rosettes branching from the larger stems, creating a beautiful silver low groundcover. A hardy spreading perennial succulent. Large gray tapering spikes of orange and white flowers are borne in late summer-fall.
    Perfect for containers and for rock, fairy, and vertical gardens. It may be small, but what a showstopper!
  • Posted by goldfinch4 (Ripon, Wisconsin) on Sep 2, 2015 5:01 AM concerning plant:
    One of my very favorite plants! The unusual gray color really stands out in the gardens. I find it self-seeds readily, but it blooms very late in our zone 4 summer so it doesn't always have time to set seed before it freezes. It's a fragile plant with tiny stems, but despite that, it does well. In winter it dies back to the point that it looks dead, but it quickly comes to life again in the spring.
Discussion Threads about this plant
Thread Title Last Reply Replies
Untitled by 4susiesjoy Sep 10, 2014 12:43 PM 10
Orostachys malacophylla var. iwarenge by valleylynn Oct 15, 2013 9:52 PM 2
Orostachys malacophylla var. iwarenge by valleylynn Oct 17, 2013 5:58 AM 7
A different species, other than O. iwarenge? by purpleinopp Feb 13, 2022 3:00 PM 2

« Add a new plant to the database

» Search the Orostachys Database: by characteristics or by cultivar name

« See the general plant entry for Orostachys

« The Orostachys Database Front Page

« The Plants Database Front Page