Sedums for the garden
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Bizarre and hardy children of the prairie…
That is why gardeners are happy to plant succulents in their landscape compositions.which means «juicy» in Latin.
They are juicy in the literal sense: thick fleshy stems or leaves are filled with water reserves, which are gradually consumed during the drought period.
Succulents accumulate moisture not only during the rainy season, they are able to extract this life-giving elixir even from the air.
The most common (but far from the only) succulents include stonecrops and young ones.
Stonecrops (sedums) represent such a diverse family that by planting several species on the site, in 3-4 years without any effort you will get a beautiful landscape.
NUANCE: stonecrops will not lose the fight against weeds, but they will not defeat rivals)))
I recommend striking a balance between decorative elements with stonecrops and large areas of grass (subject to regular mowing).
And if you correctly place accents from coniferous, large stones and stone placers, then all that remains for you is to enjoy the modest and exotic splendor of a garden of succulents. By the way, this is a great option for giving, where it is already full of trouble.
Sedums in nature are represented by ground cover plants, ampelous species and herbaceous shrubs.
Most of them are perennials, but not all are able to grow outdoors all year round.
I will not dwell on the (indoor) species that do not hibernate in our conditions. Let’s pay attention to stonecrops for open ground.
POPULAR VIEWS
Sedum white (sedum album)
- Habitat: Europe, Transcaucasia, northern Africa.
- Flowering period: June August.
- Color spectrum: leaves from green with reddish tan to purple, flowers are white.
- Height: creeping species up to 5 cm high, peduncles up to 15 cm.
- Growing conditions: drained sandy-humus soils, minimum watering.
- Peculiarities: reminiscent of inflatable Christmas trees, frost-resistant, can fall out after a harsh winter, but is easily restored.
Stonecrop thin (Sedum Gracile)
- Habitat: Caucasus, Northern Iran. mountains to the alpine belt.
- flowering period: June August.
- Color spectrum: light green leaves, white flowers.
- Height: mat up to 5 cm
- Growing conditions: to minimize freezing it is desirable to settle on horizontal platforms not higher and not lower than the main level of the site.
- Peculiarities: cold-resistant up to -180C, when frozen, it grows again from the surviving leaves.
stonecrop (Sedum acre)
- Habitat: European part of the continent
- Flowering period: from May to August.
- Color spectrum: light green herringbone leaves and bright yellow flowers.
- Height: forms a rug up to 3 cm high, during the flowering period up to 5 cm.
- Growing conditions: able to live in crevices of stones, between paving elements on garden paths.
- Peculiarities: an evergreen ground cover plant, very small leaves and flowers, the entire aerial part of the plant is used as a medicinal raw material, the most tenacious of stonecrops.
Stonecrop bent, rocky (Sedum reflexum)
- Habitat: Western Europe,
- Flowering period: August.
- Color spectrum: gray leaves, bright yellow flowers
- Height: leaves form a rug up to 10 cm high, peduncles up to 20 cm.
- Growing conditions: well-drained soil with the addition of coarse sand or fine gravel.
- Peculiarities: evergreen plant for alpine slides.
Evers stonecrop (Sedum ewersii)
- Habitat: Alpine Altai and Central Asia, Northwest China, Himalayas.
- Flowering period: July-August, about 45 days
- Color spectrum: leaves are gray, flowers are pink, purple-pink.
- Height: up to 15 cm
- Growing conditions: drought-resistant, some gardeners cover this type of sedum for the winter.
- Peculiarities: looks best in rockeries against the background of stones of red, dark gray and beige shades.
Sedum thick-branched (Sedum pachyclados)
- Habitat: Caucasus
- Flowering period: July August.
- Color spectrum: dove-gray rose leaves, pink-white flowers.
- Height: 3-8 cm
- Growing conditions: rocky soils.
- Peculiarities: evergreen ground cover, forms rounded mats, grows very slowly.
Stonecrop white-pink (Sedum alboroseum Mediovariegatum)
- Habitat:
- Flowering period: Aug. Sept.
- Color spectrum: the leaves are yellow with a green border, the flowers are white-pink.
- Height: herbaceous shrub up to 60 cm high
- Growing conditions: light, moist soils.
- Peculiarities: In nature, it settles along the banks of water bodies.
China, Japan, Korea.
stonecrop prominent (Sedum spectabile)
- Habitat: China, Korea, Japan
- Flowering period: Aug. Sept.
- Color spectrum: the color of the leaves is bluish-green, purple, the flowers are white, cream, ash-pink, purple.
- Height: up to 80 cm.
- Growing conditions: unpretentious.
- Peculiarities: forms lush curtains, propagated by cuttings, dividing the rhizome.
Stonecrop is prominent, it is also stonecrop, has a lot of varieties.
Brilliant variety — I especially recommend it. Yes, it is too familiar for us, because it is ubiquitous. But this variety has the longest flowering among relatives.
The light green of the inflorescences is gradually covered with a pink haze, which darkens and gradually acquires a carmine, and after withering, a brown hue. Looks beautiful in winter compositions. I cut it only in the spring.
Sedum Matrona is the tallest of the stonecrops. A distinctive feature is purple peduncles and gray-green leaves with purple patches, as if tanned in the sun. Inflorescences at first pink, later crimson. In winter, the inflorescences go brown. Pete Oudolf’s favorite.
There are also many varieties with beige and red flowers, as well as purple foliage. They look much prettier. Their decorative effect lasts from the beginning of summer and the peak falls on the flowering period. But they do not always bloom neatly. But this is their only drawback — you just need to cut the inflorescences in time.
IT’S IMPORTANT TO KNOW
Despite their resistance to frost, ground cover sedums are sensitive to freezing of the soil in places open to the wind. It may happen that in spring you will not see a continuous rug of charming blown leaves.
Some plants will die in places where the soil was too dry before frost. This usually occurs on earthen slopes.
In the spring, in a month and a half, the picturesque picture will be restored. However, those ground cover stonecrops that are planted in close proximity to young (from my own cultivation experience), are located on horizontal platforms flush with the ground and grow in deep earthen pockets between stones.
SEDUM IN GARDEN DESIGN
Given the same growing conditions, the variety of forms and the dispersion of the flowering period, it is better to plant sedums together. A mix of plots with different varieties will look especially harmonious against the background of a stone placer.
If you already plant one species, then in areas of such sizes that they are noticeable. However, ground cover stonecrops will take care of it themselves :).
COMBINATION IN SHAPE AND COLOR
Concrete, stone, brick, wood, plastic, metal — all these materials will serve as a beautiful background for sedums of any form of growth.
Any of the stonecrops will find a worthy place in the mixborder, whether it is its edge or the middle tier.
And, of course, the most traditional solution is a place in rockeries among alpine plants.
REPRODUCTION AND TRANSPLANT
Sedums can be propagated by seeds, but it is easier and faster to do this by dividing the rhizome, cuttings, processes. The best period for this is April-May.
Cuttings take root well during the velvet season (end of August — beginning of September). During this period, the sunny areas do not dry out and rooting occurs without any difficulties.
The process is broken off, allowed to dry slightly in the sun (so that the fracture site is delayed) and simply stuck into the damp earth. Watering is required only if the weather is too dry. After a while, the plants will take root.
In groundcover sedums, fallen fleshy leaves take root on their own upon contact with the ground.
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