Sedum "Autumn Joy", a hybrid of S. spectabile and S. telephium, is an excellent plant for beginner gardener. It teaches two important lessons: that foliage and shape are just as important as flowers, and that a handful of reliable performers planted in groups of three or more makes a garden, whereas one of everything amkes a mess. With its resilient beauty, an upright sedum anchors a garden as well as any clipped shrub, bringing out the best in showier plants and keeping the peace among them. "Autumn Joy" looks good in spring, when its fleshy leaves poke up through the dirt; in mid-summer, when its pale green broccoli-like heads slowly age to the color of a fine claret; and even in winter, when its still-intact but now russet-colored seed heads look charming under caps of pure white snow. Sedums are succulents that needs little water, less care.
PEAK SEASON Midsummer to late fall.
GARDEN COMPANIONS
Plant with
black-eyed Susan
dwarf fountain grass
feather reed grass
red-berried creeping cotoneaster for winter interest
salvia
euphorbia
WHERE
Choosea planting site in full sun with average to rich soil. Good soil drainage is important, expecially in winter. Sedums will tolerate poor, dry soils better than web soils, which can lead to root or crown rot. Use sedums in mass plantings, meadow gardens, rock gardens, or mixed borders. IN LANDSCAPE