Guest Author - Connie Krochmal
The Sedums are one of the better-known groups of succulents. These are often called live-forevers or stonecrops. They are members of the Crassulaceae family.
Many of the stonecrops have creeping or drooping stems, making them perfect for use as ground covers and hanging baskets. Quite often, the stems will root wherever they touch the soil.
The succulent stems are covered with fleshy leaves, often appearing in the form of whorls or rosettes. Usually the foliage will have a waxy or glaucous appearance.
Stonecrop flowers tend to be star-shaped. Typically they are very showy, and will be pink, white, or yellow. They appear as terminal clusters.
There are many kinds of Sedums. Some are hardy enough to grow in cold climates, while other tender sub-tropical ones are grown as indoor plants, or outdoors in warm areas. As houseplants, sedums are often grown in hanging baskets, which take advantage of the lovely pendant stems.
The hardy stonecrops are often used in rock gardens, and as groundcovers.
Even the tender stonecrops grown as houseplants can tolerate somewhat cooler temperatures at night.
Like most succulents, stonecrops need to be kept on the dry side. Some gardeners may have noticed that the foliage can become marred if the plants remain wet for long periods.
The stonecrops are often propagated by cuttings. Some can also be grown from individual leaves. Depending on the species, they can also be grown from seeds. I’ve used this method for some hardy European ones that are suitable for ground covers.
The burro’s tail is one of the more popular indoor species. It is also called jellybeans, or donkey’s tail. The Latin name is Sedum morganianum. With gorgeous trailing stems, it is ideal in hanging baskets. Burro’s tail is native to Mexico. Avoid touching the leaves if possible, since this usually causes them to drop off.
The giant burro’s tail or lamb’s tail is a hybrid created from two species (Sedum treleasei x morganianum). Like the burro’s tail, it is especially suited to hanging baskets, and has similar stems. However, giant burro’s tail has fatter leaves that don’t shatter when they are touched.
Green coxcomb (Sedum praealtum cristatum) is a very attractive bush-like sedum. There’s a sturdy stem topped with a fan-shaped crest of foliage. Under good growing conditions, plants can grow to be four to five feet in height. It features bright yellow blooms in clusters.
Carpet sedum (Sedum lineare ‘Variegatum’) is native to Japan and China. This very low growing succulent has small linear-shaped leaves with white on the margins. Carpet sedum is often used as a ground cover,
Native of Japan, October plant or October daphne (Sedum sieboldii) can be grown outdoors in warm areas. Elsewhere it is used as a houseplant. This vine-like plant has creeping red stems. The bluish-gray succulent leaves are in whorls. Later in the growing season they turn reddish brown, and have red along the edges. As the word October in the name implies, it does bloom in October. The red, star-like blooms appear in clusters on the ends of the stems.
In colder parts of the U.S., the Mexican stonecrop (Sedum mexicanum) is used as a houseplant. Elsewhere in warm climates, it can be grown outdoors. This plant features trailing succulent stems that develop roots when they touch the soil. It is particularly beautiful when grown in hanging baskets. The flattened, green leaves look like needles. Mexican stonecrop has bright yellow blooms opening in clusters.
