Ten years ago, a well-meaning friend gave me several sedum plants, and with great enthusiasm, I planted them on our stone wall.
I was a new gardener, and it was a wonderful experience to watch the far-ranging stems proliferate and cover the rough stones.
Little did I know then the sedum I had planted was Sedum sarmentosum—a species whose stems root so easily wherever they touch soil that the plants soon take over the garden.
It is a difficult plant to eradicate once it is established, so I have learned to be ruthless about it, pulling up the plants whenever they appear.
Isn’t it strange, after that introduction to the sedums or stonecrops, as they are commonly called, that I became interested in collecting other species?
I am sure it was because my first plants grew so quickly that my curiosity was aroused.
I soon discovered many other lovely ones which are easy to grow but not so invasive.
Easy-To-Care For And Low Maintenance Sedums
It makes no difference whether the sun shines continuously or rains for days—sedums thrive.
They harbor no troublesome pests, and the only feeding our plants get is the fertilizer that leaches to them from the vegetable garden nearby.
I cut off dead flowers and occasionally weed by hand, for a troublesome little oxalis grows in and around our plants.
Different Sedum Varieties
We have several other kinds in addition, and I shall try to give you an idea of what they are like. Their names seem so pretentious for their size!
Sedum Acre Minus
The tiniest is Sedum acre minus which, lying flat on the ground, looks like dark green moss and produces tiny yellow flowers in spring.
It is slower growing than Sedum acre, almost identical to it but a bit taller and less restrained in growth.
Sedum Ewersi Homophyllum
In contrast, we have Sedum ewersi homophyllum, which is slow-growing with rather twiggy brown branches and fleshy gray leaves.
In August and September, it is covered with tiny pink starlike flowers.
Sedum Dasyphyllum Glanduliferum
Sedum dasyphyllum glanduliferum is a very dwarf plant with miniature, gray-green beadlike leaves of rough texture.
It bears pale pink flowers in May and is particularly happy in the smaller crevices of our wall, where they are just the right size to lend a touch of variety.
Sedum Cauticolum
Sedum cauticolum looks like Sedum sieboldi, with blue-gray fleshy stems and pinkish-red blossoms in September and October.
The flowers last through November in our New Jersey garden if grown in a frost-protected spot.
Its leaves resemble spiral eucalyptus used for winter decoration indoors when flowers are at a premium.
Sedum Spathulifolium
The only species we have tried that was not immediately happy is Sedum spathulifolium.
It forms a small rosette of spoon-shaped gray leaves that take on a pinkish hue in the sun.
I have given it a little sandier soil and sincerely hope this will encourage it on its way.
Growing Suitable Sedum Species
One of the pleasures of gardening is sharing, and if you grow sedums, you will have sprays of leaves or flowers to snip for a flower arranger friend or plants to divide and give to an ardent fellow gardener.
There is no trick to growing sedums. There are many kinds besides those we grow, and gardeners everywhere can find suitable species.