The Sedum – Gardening Made Easy

Who wouldn’t want a garden filled with extremely low-maintenance plants? Ones that need very little watering? Flowers that don’t require pruning and can even be kept in a vase? Flowers that, when they’re done blooming, have already developed roots so they can easily be planted as new garden residents? Sounds too good to be true? Then read more about the low-maintenance and beautiful Sedum!

The Sedum, often called stonecrop, is a succulent, making it a true survivor. Especially the ground-covering species like the yellow-flowering Sedum acre or the pink Sedum spurium thrive in very sunny, dry spots and even tolerate poor soil. These species are often used in rock gardens, as well as for planting dry walls and even for roof greening.

They look their most elegant when planted in large groups alongside stone boulders and complemented with decorative grasses like blue fescue or pampas grass.

If you prefer to stock up on undemanding perennials, you should look for the Purple Sedum 'Matrona' or the pink Sedum spectabile. While they shouldn’t dry out too much and will appreciate moderate fertilization as more vigorous species, they reward you with magnificent flowers that are suitable as cut flowers. The 'Matrona' can grow up to 60 cm, and the Sedum spectabile can reach 40 cm in height.

But terrace enthusiasts also love the ground-covering varieties of Sedum (mossy stonecrop), as these create decorative carpets in hanging baskets and window boxes. With their small but vibrant flowers cascading over the edges of the containers, they effortlessly beautify balconies for an extended period. Since the late-blooming flowers continue to produce beautiful blooms and later fruiting heads well into autumn, they serve as lovely decorations in the bleak winter months and also provide valuable food for local birds.

Today, there are beautiful cultivars with flower colors ranging from white to yellow to peach and from pink to purple to violet. But the leaves of the approximately 500 different Sedum species are also so versatile that the plants are already highly decorative even without blooming. Some species have leaves that are yellow, green, or gray-green, while others display an impressive red hue.