What is the easiest, hardiest, longest-blooming, most adaptable perennial? Sedum!
There are 600 species of sedum to choose from in the Northern Hemisphere. One of the most popular is Sedum ‘Autumn Joy.’ Like all sedums it has fleshy leaves that store moisture, allowing it to go at least a month without water. ‘Autumn Joy’ is a neat compact plant that looks great all summer long until its 2’ sturdy stems are crowned with 5”-6” burgundy flower clusters in late summer when most other plants have stopped blooming. A similar cultivar is ‘Summer Glory.’ It has the same form but blooms a little earlier in August with light rose-colored flowers. Many people allow the stems to stay on the plants until spring for winter interest.
Some varieties of sedums are called stonecrop because they grow so easily among and over rocks. Stonecrops are creeping ground covers with leaves varying from the size of a dime to the size of a large pinhead. Leaf color varies from a deep burgundy to a perfect crayon green. Stonecrops shoot up wiry stems on which brilliantly colored yellow, copper, red or gold flowers appear in mid-summer.
Sedum is extremely tolerant of neglect and actually survives best in nutrient-deficient soil. Sometimes plants even migrate from rich fertile soil to colonize nearby stony areas. More good news – for the most part, sedum is free of pests and disease.
Sedum grows best in full sun, but will tolerate some shade. The key to success for any type of sedum is to plant it in well-drained soil. If your soil is heavy, add a large handful of gravel to the bottom of the planting hole and mix coarse sand, granite chips or some other type of gritty material into the surrounding soil. That said, my “Autumn Joy’ sedum is growing just fine in heavy wet clay.
Sedums are one of the easiest plants to divide. Clump-forming types can be easily divided in spring or fall by ramming a sharp spade through the center of the clump. Remove half the clump and divide it into three or four divisions for planting elsewhere. Fill the resulting hole with soil and leave the other half in the ground to continue growing.
The ground cover types are even easier to propagate. Just rip some pieces off the parent plant and stick the stems in the ground where you want them. Keep them well-watered for a few weeks and they’ll soon grow roots and start growing on their own.
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