A week ago I gazed impatiently at the sedum saying to myself, “It can’t be much longer”.  Their flower buds were still tightly closed and barely showing color.  Suddenly, something changed!  I rounded the corner this morning to a radiant display of deep red buds opening to vivid pink, and rose-burgundy flowers.  The thick, leathery texture of the sedum foliage creating a dense backdrop for their brilliant flower clusters. Upright varieties like ‘Garnet Brocade’ and ‘Red Cauli’ grow into 12-15” tall plants of succulent, deep burgundy foliage and dark rose-pink to red-burgundy flowers.  ‘Maestro’ Sedum tops out around 24-30” and has more of a burgundy blush to the leaf which, when paired with its rose pink flowers creates an absolutely stunning display!  A green leaved variety, ‘Carl’ has vibrant pink flowers borne on strong 18-24” stems.  Another real beauty is a variety called ‘Lidakense’.  It is different from the varieties that I have mentioned above in that it has a lower spreading habit.  At only 8-10” tall ‘Lidakense’ produces amazing mounds of purple-grey succulent leaves with intense pink starry flowers.  Sedums are a very popular perennial due to their hardiness and low maintenance.  They prefer well drained soil and once established are drought tolerant.  Once blooming the sedums become butterfly magnets adding even more appeal to these already amazing plants. Excellent in rock gardens and along the perennial border sedums pair well with asters, mums, grasses, rudbeckia or hydrangeas.

Heidi Brosseau – our retail manager – submitted this blog post.