Creeping Sedums

These colorful perennials fit into many niches

Since sedums fly high in less - than - idealistic conditions , the generator adorns a stone wall with a broad categorization of them ( identified in the chart below ) .

If you ’re expect for a beautiful plant that thrives with practical disregard , a creeping sedum just might fit the bill . Sedums tittup their stuff where many other plants presume not venture . They make themselves at household , for example , in the cracks of a garden bulwark or walkway , on roof or the tops of gently sloping birdhouse , or even under massive trees where enormous theme monopolize most of the soil ’s moisture . They also do well in rock gardens , boundary line , and container .

As seasonal and prolonged droughts make even appearances across the United States , many gardener have begun to take a closer look at extremity of the genusSedum . AlthoughSedum‘Autumn Joy ’ has become pop for its late russet bloom , its ground - hug relatives are also gaining favour .

grovel sedums , also commonly cognize as stonecrop , offer unending interest throughout my garden . They are among the most versatile , drought - kind , and promiscuous - to - grow perennial I ’ve ever cultivated during several decades as a gardener . sedum actually decrease work for a nurseryman as they increase in square footage . Renowned for their power to overspread quickly , these low cultivator thus keep weeds from taking hold . Although it ’s not necessary to deadhead the spend blooms since they eventually just fade by , it ’s easy to dispatch old flowers with a twine trimmer . As long as they ’re not overwatered , they rarely suffer from any disease or pests .

While even the wretched grime can nourish sedums — and short or little soil is actually their preferred medium — good drainage is the key to growing them . Too much wet , especially stand piss , will do what no drought can : It will quickly kill a sedum .

Once established , sedum involve virtually no supplemental body of water to thrive , even in the driest circumstances . Although they are an ideal choice for gardens in hot , arid clime like the western United States , sedum perform well nearly anywhere — as long as they get good drainage . In fact , they are common in stale , alpine region , where they can be institute poking out from boulders or sprouting from just a few inches of scree . There ’s at least oneSedumspecies for most every USDA Hardiness Zone . Most creep sedum opt full sun but will tolerate fond refinement . S. ternatum , a aboriginal of North America , is one sedum that prefers the shade and a bit more wet than its relative .

Creeping sedums, also known as stonecrops

Sedumspp . and cvs.(SEE - dum )

Hardiness

The genusSedumincludes more than 400 species of succulent annuals , perennials , biennial , subshrub , and bush native to the Northern Hemisphere . Many sedum in cultivation are creeping ground covers . There is at least one coinage hardy to each USDA Hardiness Zone . Most are hardy in zone 4 to 9 .

Appearance

mat of succulent leave ranging from green to blue - gray to reddish bronze are topped with five - petaled flowers in yellow , white-hot , or pink . The leaves of evergreen coinage turn shades of red and russet in winter .

Propagation

Propagate by seed in spring or fall or by sectionalisation or cuttings from spring through midsummer .

Uses

flora in stone gardens , wall , footpath niches , and containers ; as butt on for borders ; or in sweep on hillsides .

Conditions

Most creeping sedums thrive in full sun but will tolerate fond shadiness . They like poor or average well - drain garden soil ; no supplemental watering is require once they are establish . They will not survive stand water for any length of time .

Creeping sedums change from season to season

While dependableness and lack of fussiness are perhaps the most compelling traits of creeping sedums , I ’m just as pull to them for their other virtues : their succulent leave , long blooming cycles , and , in some cases , class - round interest in the garden . incline to white , yellowness , purples , and pinks , sedum blooms are more often than not small , starlike cluster , usually no more than an inch in diam and 4 inches or 5 inches in height . Planted in hatful , the carpets of salad days they make look spectacular . In the fall and even in wintertime , many evergreen sedums , likeS. album‘Murale ’ andS. stenopetalum , blush to a deep red or bronze hue that endure until other spring , provide spectacular counterpoint to an otherwise dormant landscape . They are peculiarly pleasing against a background of snow .

Sedums are among the easiest plants to propagate , either from seed , film editing , or divisions . Sedums do n’t always add up true from seed , so stem cuttings or divisions will ensure the maintenance of the qualities of a plant once you ’ve found one you like . Although sedum are rapid spreader , they are not encroaching . Because they are shallow rooted , they can be easily lifted and moved . And they will overwinter in most plantation owner — provided there is ample drainage — and go forth from dormancy in early to midspring .

As a boy on my family ’s farm in northeastern Maryland , I grumbled as I transfer rock and roll from the cultivated areas of my founding father ’s fields . decade later , in fitting caustic remark , I ramble those same field in hunt of interesting stones to serve as backcloth and accent stage for my ever - expand collection of sedums .

A few ways to use creeping sedums

Rock gardens

inflexible sedum make attractive linchpin . I use volume of sedum in an area of my rock garden to create the illusion of a waterfall . you could combine a variety of sedums , such as yellow - floweredS. sexangulare(foreground , first exposure below),S. grisebachii(middle ground ) , and white - floweredS. album(background ) . They work especially well in an area that is viewed from above .

Containers

These dispirited - forethought , all - season plants are perfect for bay window . Since creeping sedum overwinter well in pile , you wo n’t have to block the containers within for the wintertime . And their tolerance of drought means you wo n’t have to determine someone to water them while you are on vacation . works sedums , such as yellow - floweredS. sexangulare , with other succulents like hen and chicks ( Sempervivumspp . and cvs . , Zones 4–10 , second pic , below ) or apply them as underplantings .

Cracks and crevices

damp the concentrated boundary of sway walls or stepping I. F. Stone . Sedums , such asS. spurium‘Fuldaglut ’ , grow with almost no soil within crack of a stone wall or between stepping stones ( third photo , below ) . Use established belittled seedlings , also known as plug , and mix in a bit of o.k. crushed rock and soil .

Slopes

Tame a tough situation with a patchwork of sedum . Perhaps you have an area that has always refuse both mow and gardening , such as a side with compacted soil . It could be an ideal smudge to weave patches of color and grain using creeping sedums such as pink - floweringS. spurium‘John Creech ’ and others . The “ quilt ” will change three times a year as the sedum exhibit their early - season foliage colours , then flowers , and finally winter foliation in dissimilar shades .

A gallery of sedums

Sedum divergens

Sedum ternatum

Sedum reflexum(S. rupestre )

Sedum‘Rose Carpet ’

Sedum spurium‘John Creech ’

Sedum sexangulare

Sedum kamtschaticum

Ed Snodgrass is a horticulturalist and possess a nursery in Maryland called Green Roof Plants .

Photos : Virginia Small

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