I FEEL AS IF I’M AWASH IN SEDUM AT THE MOMENT, perhaps the easiest-to-grow genus of perennials there is. Compared to being awash in rain, or being beholden to Plants That Must Be Obeyed, things could be much, much worse. And look at the colorplays, like that of S. cauticolum ‘Lidakense’ (blue) and the rose-colored blooms of S. spurium ‘Fuldaglut.’ Yum.
Best of all: Even the frogboys, kings of my kingdom, give sedums a thumbs (well, whatever their digits are called) up. Have a look at some of the colorful faces who ask nothing and offer so much, succulent members of the genus Sedum, in a slideshow of favorite stonecrops.
A couple of them already have profiles of their own here, such as the tall blue-green ‘Matrona,’ and the ground-hugging sunshine-colored ‘Angelina,’ both plants I would order if I didn’t already have them.
Click the first thumbnail to start the show, and toggle from slide to slide using the arrows beside the captions. Enjoy.
turquoise beauty: sedum ‘matrona’ 
a plant i’d order: sedum ‘angelina’ 
a must-have sedum: ‘matrona’ 
What amazing colours in the sedums, how could you ever choose between them. I think I will be visiting my garden centre tomorrow.
I just love these things. Last year I planted dark and sexy Sedum spurium ‘Voodoo’ in a raised container with an aquamarine glaze. It definitely formed an eye-catching centerpiece to my patio garden!
We planted Black Jack… and it came up green this year! I don’t think there’s a way to turn it back to black, so we’ll just live with it for now.
A gardening pal of mine just recommended sedum to fill in crevices in a rather large wall of limestone at my place that are currently filled with weeds, so I was thrilled to see this post.
I was wondering if you’d share the name of the variety to the right of your feet in the second photo of the slide show.
Welcome, Fallsvillagegardener. Glad to be timely. The one to the right in the picture w/my feet is the S. spurium ‘Fuldaglut,’ but not as reddish as it can be sometimes, and the blue one to the right of that, at the edge of the frame, is S. cauticolum ‘Lidakense.’ They’re in the slides, too, in more detail…keep clicking after the foot photo for detail shots. I adore the blue one. :)
Yep, I like the Lidakense, too. Thanks!
I get it. You’re not a real person. You’re a serendipitous, magical green plant fairy, living in my world to bring me these magical slideshows that color my otherwise lackluster day. Oh joy!
bought my first this year at Gilberti’s half price weekend sale… love them already. (will have to go and look up the names ;o
Hi, DD. I asked you *not* to tell everyone the truth. Oh, geez. Outed. (Actually, I guess last week’s “Cabinet of Curiosities” slideshow probably was the final straw against pretending to be normal.) See you soon.
Delightful sedums, Margaret! Isn’t summer grand!
Just when I think I can’t fit in any more plants I visit your website and suddenly I think I can. Last night while weeding I found a perfect spot for more sedums. Who knew?
Love your sedum. Mine have not started to change colors yet here in MI. I have 2 plants that I transplanted out of the wild jungle I found when I moved in spring 2000 and later relocated by the water garden in spring 2001 and they have been doing fantastic every year since with no special care needed. I love them.
Welcome, Jody. Apparently we have similar takes on Sedum (and “wild jungle” sounds like something I’d say, too). Nice to see you here, and don’t be a stranger. See you soon again.
This year, I transplanted sedum, to a garden spot, down by the road, where I hardly ever get to water. With the road salt of winter, and maybe not the best soil, even the hostas that are planted there have done poorly. The sedum have progressed fine. I will add more, and different varieties. My neighbor has sedum growing over stumps that are cut flat to the ground. Even there they thrive.
I love Sedum though I don’t have any as yet. Another plant to add to the worlds biggest wish list!
Welcome, Calirwil. Yes, herem too: the world’s biggest wish list. Sorry to add to your troubles, er, desires. See you soon again.
I put some sedum angelina under my lemon tree in a sun-soaked window, and it’s doing beautifully. (First I tried three little lemon thyme plugs, but one died immediately and mysteriously. … Mystery solved when I later slid the pot to the sunnier side of the sill and the other two succumbed to sun scorch. that’s a lot of esses) The sedum seems to love it.
Can we talk about deer here, or is the very acknowledgment of them enough to empower them with supernatural qualities (the Voldemort species of the natural world)? Those operating from outposts here in Western PA keep the taller sedums snipped to a nub–they seem to have a special sense of how to keep a plant alive for the next browse, but eliminate whatever characteristics drew a gardener to it in the first place. They leave the low growers alone, though…a happy discovery!
Welcome, Alisa. Yes, we can talk about deer, with whom I am very strict (read: FENCE). This older post may help reveal my anti-deer policies. They are relentless and will eat anything that’s not poisonous, I think, if they are in the mood. Succulent tall sedums=favorite tender treats, I think. See you soon again, I hope.
I have several mounds of the low growing yellow flowering sedum that keep popping up all over the place. I once tried just letting them go but they seem to take over in between and under every perennial and shrub–not exactly what I wanted. Between the stones in the wall they got so thick and almost impossible to remove. Am I just trying to be too perfect?
Welcome, Jane. The one by my frogpool is a nuisance that way, too. You have to watch it. The rest are better-behaved here, but that one is too cooperative. We use a big discarded chef’s knife to cut them out of the cracks, rather than pull. More thorough, and easier. See you soon!
Margaret, I’m so stunned by your identification of my top groundcover as S. linare (not S. acre I thought) that I’ve posted about it:
http://www.sustainable-gardening.com/archives/5803
You’ve rocked my world! My tiny, tiny world of collecting groundcovers to recommend as lawn substitutes.
@Susan: I posted this on your blog, too, hoping you will see it.
Didn’t mean to be a troublemaker. :) I only know what mine was labeled, and it seems to key out properly now that I look it up prompted by your inquiry…but I am no taxonomist, to say the least.
And I also agree that especially in flower S. acre looks very similar to S. lineare (and various other sedums!) — a massive mat of gold — and have often wondered generally speaking how the heck all these groundcover sedums can be told apart anyhow.
The foliage of S. lineare is more lanceolate and is said in taxonomic references to be arranged in whorls of three (which my leaves are). The leaves of S. acre seem even more fine-textured and are said in the books to be triangular, blunt and overlapping, which also seems to verify my ID since my plant’s leaves don’t overlap etc.
Have you seen this detailed pdf on S. acre? My presumed S. lineare plant is much coarser texture — each leaf is as long as the diameter of a dime; note the photos here of S. acre by comparison for scale:
http://www.cpa.msu.edu/beal/plantofweek/plants/sedum_acre_20080623.pdf
Lazy S’s online catalog seems to have the closest-up photos of the so-called ‘Golden Teardrop’ that I can find for comparison. Next time I am somewhere reputable that they sell both I will bring them home and see.
Or maybe I should just send you a hunk of mine and you send me a chunk of yours and we compare? Goodness knows it wouldn’t miss a beat, being a sedum.
Okay, Margaret, you’re batting 100 so far, but do you happen to know what this creeping blue sedum is? http://www.sustainable-gardening.com/archives/5843
One more link before I go. This one sends readers to your post about succession planting: http://homesteadgardens.wordpress.com/2010/06/14/succession-planting-301/
I’m a fan! So bad you’re soooo far coz I’d love to visit you and your garden.
@Susan: Is it S. reflexum ‘Blue Spruce’? The best pics I could find for you to compare to were here. Thanks re: the link!
My favorite creeping sedum is Bertram Anderson. Gorgeous smoky purple foliage all season long with hot pink blooms. Stunning!