If you have a hot dry sunny spot, your undemanding sedums will love you for it and reward you with consistent growth and flowering. Water stored in the leaves of this little wonder plant reduces the need for watering. Very often you could go a whole summer and not need to turn the hose on them even once. Most Sedums propagate easily from leaf segments that break off. The only pests you may encounter are aphids, but they are easily taken care of with a good spray of Safer’s soap and manually remove. Here are a few of our favourites that you might want to try.

Sedum spurium ‘Fuldaglut’  – Grows about 6” tall with a 24” spread and flowers early to late summer. Beautiful pale green foliage edged in bright red.

Sedum ‘Purple Emperor’ – Taller growing at 12” and spreads to 18”. Blooms late summer to early fall. Good purple foliage
 
Sedum sieboldii – Grows 6-9’ and trails over. Bluish leaves have pink edges and blooms in late fall.

Sedum telephium – Also known as Autumn Joy Stonecrop, grow up to 24” and blooms in the fall.

Our most recent favourite is Sedum ‘Black Jack’. This stunning black sedum is a sport of ‘Matrona’ and has a similar growth habit, being erect and about 18” in height. This plant has the blackest foliage we have seen to date.

Some Sedums are gaining popularity for use on green roofs. They help to insulate the house saving on heating costs and are low growing, reducing the need to cut back or keep tidy looking. Another popular use is mass plantings. The flowers will take center stage in fall and last right through to the first frost. For winter interest, don’t cut the plants but let them collect drifts of snow. You’ll also be providing a perch and snacks for over wintering birds.