Saturday, September 6, 2014

Sedum

My Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ had a really tough winter last year.  Then the deer ate it off…it has been through the wringer. 

Lots of gardeners have the old variety before ‘Autumn Joy’ was introduced.  The old variety you will know if you have it as about July 1st it splits in the middle and lays down in all directions.  Pinching back in early spring and then again in June will help. 

If you are tired of your old Sedum…here is one that was at Bergeson Nursery and Gardens.

It doesn’t have the reddish color of ‘Autumn Joy’ but it is pretty in it’s own right. Its foliage is more blue-green than the green foliage of ‘Autumn Joy.’  Its growth habit seemed more compact with flower heads closer together.

Abbeydore Sedum

It appeared to be about 10 inches tall.  This one may have been pinched back…I think it is normally about 16 inches tall.

Abbeydore Sedum 2014

Abbeydore Sedum

If I were going to plant more Sedum I would probably pick this one.  The butterflies and the bees like this plant…so don’t plant it next to your door or near where you walk everyday.  My Sedum have been just covered with bees in the Fall.

Sedum and a bee September

A few years back I took this photo of a busy bee on ‘Autumn Joy’

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13 comments:

Cynthia said...

I've never seen sedum with pink flowers. Always nice to plant something attractive to the bees and butterflies as well as humans. They need all the help they can get these days.

DJan said...

How pretty! I think I like every variety you pictured. That last picture with the bee is just perfect. :-)

Sam I Am...... said...

I like that one but I had it on the farm and not knowing plants like you do I didn't care for it because. like you said, it was leggy and laid all over the place..usually on our little bit of sidewalk. But if the bees love it then I do too! That one is very pretty and I like the compactness. I'll be looking at sedum with new eyes now thanks to you!

Gail said...

Beautiful. I have the old fashioned one.

My favorite thing is to show children how to make a "frog" out of the leaves.

Linda Kay said...

Good picture of the bumble bee...and the sedum. I have the red kind, and they are kind of spread all over. I'll have to remember to cut them back next summer.

Red said...

It's nice to know some detail before you plant something. I find the plant people know all this stuff but you have to ask them.

Nancy said...

Lovely. I love reading about different plants from someone who is in the know.

Henny Penny said...

I have Sedum "Autumn Joy" and it has never ever looked like that. It blooms on weak spindly little stems and flops over. Yours is beautiful. Maybe it is the lack of sun in our yard.

Pauline Persing said...

Thanks for the suggestion about pinching the sedum back early in the season. Hope I remember to do that next year. I like it because the butterflies like it.

L. D. said...

I am going to dig all of mine up and plant it in small clumps everywhere. I hope the weather holds for me to do it after it blooms. I don't think I could find autumn joy just anywhere but I may check that on a spontaneous day.

Jacqi Stevens said...

You and your camera seem to have a way with bees. How you can capture them so well is amazing! Love that shot, as well as the one in your header :)

Linda Reeder said...

I love sedums. They are attractive, architectural plants through the summer, and then bloom when most other things are looking tired.

Nancy/BLissed-Out Grandma said...

I used to photograph bees just cvovering my Autumn Joy sedum. Now we see very few, and mostly of a different variety from the ones we used to see. Makes me sad. I must remember to pinch back my plants next spring/early summer!