Growing Sedum & Stonecrop Ground Cover Plants in Your Garden

There are 3 varieties of sedum plants:

Tall border varieties (Hylotelephium or Sedum telephium)

• Dense, domed flowers and succulent leaves on 1- to 2-foot stems.
• Provide late-summer color with both flowers and foliage.
• New varieties have leaves in shades of copper, dusky mauve, and dark purple.
• Dried flowerheads on upright sedums add interest in fall and winter.
• In colder climates, they may die back to a rosette at ground level in winter.
• A layer of winter mulch recommended in zones 4 and 5.

Creeping ground covers (Sedum)

• Produce clusters of brilliant, star-shaped flowers in summer.
• Often grown for their colorful foliage that comes in shades of blue, plum, red, purple, silver, gray-green, orange, coral, yellow, gold, green, or variegated.
• Well suited for ground cover, rock walls, roof gardens, living walls, tucked into strawberry pots, or draping over the edges of containers or hanging baskets.

Trailing varieties (Sedum morganianum)

• Such as the popular houseplant donkey’s tail, also called burro’s or lamb’s tail.

When to plant:

Spring, summer, and fall are all good times to plant, just not on overly hot days.

Where to plant:

Check the light requirements of the variety you are planting. They can be grown in rocky or sandy soil, hillsides, raised beds, or in containers as long as the soil drains well.

Soil:

Well-drained soil, and most prefer slightly acidic conditions with a soil pH of 6 to 6.5. Sedums will tolerate poor soil.

How to plant:

The planting hole should be the same depth as the pot. No fertilizer needs to be added. Water after planting.

Spacing:

They tend to be slow growers, so allow them time and space to spread out. Don’t plant too closely to aggressive growers that might take their space before they have a chance to mature.

For ground cover varieties to fill in quicker and form a dense mat, plant a little closer together, but not touching.

Taller border varieties should be planted approximately 15 inches apart to allow enough room for their mature size. Overcrowding can lead to poor plant health.

Pruning:

Sedums are very low maintenance and pruning isn’t necessary. You can clean them up a bit after winter by removing any dead or damaged branches or foliage; this will also help keep your plants healthy.

• For taller border varieties, pinch new growth in spring to promote branching and shorter growth; this will help keep them from getting leggy and drooping. Deadheading sedums in fall isn’t necessary, as the flower heads provide fall and winter interest.
• Ground cover types can be trimmed to stay within their boundaries. If you don’t want seedlings from these creeping varieties, the flower heads can be removed after blooming in summer.

Amendments & Fertilizer:

Stonecrops prefer lean conditions. In fact, unless your soil is extremely poor, it may be best to avoid fertilizer at all. However, if needed, apply an organic fertilizer at half-strength during the growing season or a light layer of compost. Chemical fertilizers tend to cause stretching and flopping on taller varieties.

Watering:

They are quite drought tolerant. Water weekly from spring through fall, and may require more in extremely hot weather or if planted in a container. Wait until the soil is completely dry in-between watering. Water newly planted sedums daily for the first couple of weeks.

Propagation:

Sedums can be reproduced by division, cuttings, or seed.

• For taller varieties, division is the easiest and is best done in early spring. Dig the plant up and divide into wedges, making sure to get some new budding areas within each section. Replant the sections. They can be divided every few years.
• For the ground cover varieties, take a clipping and place the cut end in a shallow layer of potting soil.

Pests:

Rarely bothered by pests, but aphids, snails or slugs may be attracted to them. Keep plants and surrounding areas dry to help deter them.

Diseases:

Can be susceptible to disease, and younger plants are more affected. Cleaning up dead plant material and clearing weeds will go a long way in keeping your plants healthy.

Other problems:

Tan to brown patches appearing on the fleshy leaves may resemble disease or a pest infestation, but could also be from edema (swelling) if the plant has been overwatered or conditions are excessively humid or wet (the leaves swell and burst causing the spots to appear).