Sedum Planting Guide

Sedum Planting Guide
Willow Creek Gardens

Busy gardeners sometimes ask "What can you recommend that will pretty much take care of itself in my dry/windy/poor soil/cold/hot garden?" One of the first things that always comes to mind is sedum.

Sedums are succulents, relatives of cactus, and they display similar abilities to store water in fleshy tissues and to manage drying winds. They like well drained soils that aren't too fertile; very rich soils tend to produce plants that flop a bit. Don't do anything special for sedums and they'll grow and flower beautifully.

Outdoor Beds
1. Find a location where the soil drains well. If there are still water puddles 5-6 hours after a hard rain, scout out another site. Or amend the soil with the addition of organic material to raise the level 2"-3" to improve the drainage. Peat moss, compost and ground bark all work well and are widely available. Sedum prefer a bit lean to average soil.

2. Site your sedum where it will receive full sunlight, or light shade in the hottest areas.

3. Plant so that the soil level in the pot and the ground soil are even. If the sedum is sited above the level of the surrounding soil it may dry out, if below, it may sit in a puddle and rot.

4. After planting, water generously, soaking the soil. Top growth will begin to sprout in a week or two, depending on the amount of available warmth and moisture.

5. When in bloom, feel free to cut flowers to fill out summer and early fall bouquets. This will not hurt the plant.

6. After flowering has finished for the season leave the foliage in place; don't cut it off. The leaves will gather sunlight and provide nourishment for next year's show. Taller sedums may be allowed to dry in the garden and they'll provide attractive russet shades and interesting forms for the winter garden. In early spring trim your sedum to remove dead foliage from the prior year. In upright varieties, pulling off the dead stems often revels pudgy, promising buds for the current season - a cheery sight. For gardeners in warm climates, water your sedum sparingly in the winter.

Pots, Tubs, Urns & Windowboxes

(Zones 5 - 9 only; in colder climates container grown plants may struggle to survive winter's cold.)

1. Choose containers with mature plants' size in mind. Fill your containers with good quality, well-drained soil; almost any commercially available potting medium will work fine. Add a few handfuls of sand for improved drainage. Make sure there are adequate drainage holes so the soil does not become waterlogged.

2. Site your sedum where it will receive full sunlight, or light shade in the hottest areas.

3. Plant so that the soil level in the pot and the ground soil are even. If the sedum is sited above the level of the surrounding soil it may dry out, if below, it may sit in a puddle and rot.

4. After planting, water generously, soaking the soil. Top growth will begin to sprout in a week or two, depending on the amount of available warmth and moisture.

5. When in bloom, feel free to cut the flowers for bouquets. This will not hurt the plant and if you trim carefully around the edges of the plant, the loss of a few stems probably won't impact the beauty of your container.

6. After flowering has finished for the season leave the foliage in place; don't cut it off. The leaves will gather sunlight and provide nourishment for next year's show. Taller sedums may be allowed to dry in containers, where they'll provide attractive russet shades and interesting forms for the winter. In early spring trim your sedum to remove dead foliage from the prior year. In upright varieties, pulling off the dead stems often revels pudgy, promising buds for the current season - a cheery sight. For gardeners in warm climates, water your sedum sparingly in the winter.

Copyright Willow Creek Gardens 2008