CRAWLING ON THE GROUND, I SEE-DUM

Sedum rupesta 'Angelina'

Sedum spathulifolium 'Cape Blanco'

Sedum acre

Sedum reflexum 'Blue Spruce'

With all the talk about global warming and conserving our natural resources I thought it was timely to share on some plants that require minimal amount of care, water, and fertilizing, yet really preforms well. In the Seattle area we are very conscience of our water and though we get over 50" of rain annual we are a very water wise community. Our raining season start in October and ends in April/May but from several months we see very little measurable rain. Even if we get an occasional Summer storm it's not enough to really deeply water any plant.

Sedum idon't-recallus

Sedum 'Bertram Anderson' in bud

Sedum 'Bertram Anderson' full flower

Sedums are a wonderful plant group that are members of the Crassulaceae Family. The family largely consists of succulents or succulent type plants. Being native to many parts of the world you really get a tremendous variety of shapes and sizes. This post well dwell on ground cover types and next week I'll share on upright growers. As mentioned before Sedums require little care and only need a minimal amount of attention. Generally full sun and great drainage is a must. They grow much better in soil that is not overly enriched.
There is practically nothing that bothers them. And usually any difficulties come from cultural situations, like to much overhead sprinkler watering (which can make them rot). Sometimes they can be a little aggressive but they are easy to pull up (they have all surface roots and don't spread by invasive underground runners). All the Sedums from my yard are very hardy to Zone 2 (-20c).

Sedum spurium 'Dragons Blood' and 'Tricolour'

Sedum seiboldii 'October Daphne'

Sedums are perfect for that area that doesn't get much water or next to a walk way in the full hot sun that's difficult to water. Even tucked in a sunny rock garden is perfect for these little gems. I hope you'll make a place for these trend plants that are not only easy care but also easy on our natural resources.