Top Ten Sedums Recommended as Groundcover Plants

Most gardeners remember their grandmother’s tall Autumn Joy growing in the hottest parts of the garden. Their joyous cousins spread and creep with the same sizzling blooms that make Sedum the ideal plant for gardeners that want less water and responsibility but still want the same beauty of a cottage garden.

Sedum is basically like cacti without all the thorns. There are close to 500 species known as Sedum or Stonecrops. Although all Sedums flower, they’re usually grown for their foliage, which comes in exciting shades of green, blue, gold and reds not found in most other plants. They store moisture in their leaves and grow well in arid mountain locations.

My Top 10 Sedums grown as stunning groundcovers are:

#1 Angelina Sedum

This gold leaf sedum is tinged in bronze when the weather turns cold. Dainty gold flowers appear through summer. The 5-inch plant mats and covers in dry locations, rock gardens, containers and hanging baskets, and its color contrasts nicely with dark foliage plants.

#2 Blue Spruce Sedum

The name comes from the blue foliage resembling evergreen shrubs. This fast-growing plant produces a blanket of small yellow flowers throughout summer. It grows perfectly as a transition between low-sprawling evergreens, such as juniper and yews. It grows to ankle height and enjoys the hottest, windiest spots in the garden.

#3 Cascade Sedum

This perennial species blooms with yellow flowers in the midsummer heat. The leaves are green but show a red tinge in full sun. Individual plants spread several feet in irregular patterns from the crown. The variety is striking in light shade, growing 4 inches tall.

#4 Coral Reef Sedum

Also called a “Chinese Sedum,” the Coral Reef Sedum is one of the few with warm golden foliage. Growing just 2 inches tall, the light-colored foliage looks fantastic next to darker-colored sedums. Miniature white and pink flowers appear in July and August. Aggressive greenery creeps and spreads down embankments and rock gardens but looks equally handsome planted at the edge of a container.

#5 Japanese Sedum

The Japanese Sedum has silver leaves with distinctive red edges and hot-pink flowers that appear in Autumn. The plant is perfect for brightening the dark corners of a landscape. Many gardeners refer to this beauty as the “October Sedum.” It stands just 3 inches tall and grows anywhere in the garden, especially in the summer heat.

#6 Mongolian Sedum

This excellent groundcover plant blooms in late summer in shades of pink. Stunning leaves are blue and often trimmed in late autumn before it hibernates underground for winter. It is super tough in dry, crusty soil and grows just 5 inches tall, making it the perfect Sedum for rock gardens.

#7 Murale Sedum

Attractive to butterflies, this is a sedum cultivar with bronze foliage and pink flowers that bloom in early summer. It has a similar growth habit as the rest of the species but is a slightly smaller plant overall. Growing just under ankle high, it creeps through rocks as a groundcover. The species was found in Siberia, so you know it’s cold hardy for mountain gardens.

#8 Purple Emperor Sedum

This has plum foliage and pink blooms that are striking when planted with other sedums. Growing a foot tall, it grows well when filling pockets in rock gardens and sunny border gardens. It grows in full sun but blooms a ridiculously long time when planted in shade gardens.

#9 Siberian Sedum

This groundcover plant has deep green leaves and golden yellow flowers that bloom in late summer. The 4-inch foliage turns an attractive bronze in autumn. It’s a reliable, fast-growing plant used to fill spaces in rock gardens or chinks in stone walls as well as blanket sunny areas. This Sedum was found in Siberia, so you know it thrives where lesser Sedums fail.

#10 White Sedum

Named for its white flowers, this plant’s green foliage turns reddish in autumn. It blooms in summer and is an excellent ground cover for thin, poor soils or rock embankments. Drought conditions may turn the foliage pinkish, but this species has excellent tolerance for dry conditions. It loves blistering hot sun and grows 3-5 inches tall. Its white outshines the rest in light shade.

Until next month, I’ll be helping gardeners grow more fragrant gardens here at Watters Garden Center. QCBN

By Ken Lain

Ken Lain can be found throughout the week at Watters Garden Center, 1815 Iron Springs Road in Prescott, or contacted through his website at WattersGardenCenter.com or Top10Plants.com.