#Autumn joy sedum leaves free#

To see photos of my garden designs, including plant lists, check out my Instagram at carole.herebydesign. I recommend purchasing 3 or 5 plants and planting them in a group for the best effect. Ready to give sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ a try? Remember – odd numbers read best in a garden because they produce a more natural look. It’s not ideal, but it preserves the clumps and allows me to enjoy the flowers. To protect my plants in deer-infested areas, I net them with black mesh (bird netting). Its primary predators, however, are deer, who will happily devour it.

#Autumn joy sedum leaves free#

Sedum is one of the most active of all the late-summer flowers.Īutumn Joy is mostly free of pests and diseases, save for some occasional nibbles from slugs or mealy bugs. The large, flat clusters of flowers with easy-access nectar are butterfly and bee magnets.

One glance at my crop in the garden and it’s easy to see why pollinators love it. The leaves root easily in soil to form new plants. Or, you can take stem cuttings in summer. Want more of a good thing? Autumn Joy is easy to propagate. It produced a flush of new growth followed by flowers a few weeks later. This left some stubby growth for a few weeks, but the plant recovered. Accordingly, I made the drastic decision to cut back the emerging flowers to a pair of lateral leaves. That said, sometimes the blooms come up REALLY early, which was the case this year in Maryland. It’s a great way to ensure your garden receives a big burst of color at the end of the season. I’ve followed her method for years and the results are a sturdier plant whose flowers reliably appear in early August. She recommends pruning sedum stems in June (before buds) to control for height and period of bloom. Pruning perennials couldn’t be simpler if you follow the advice in Tracy DiSabato-Aust’s The Well-Tended Perennial Garden. To prevent this from occurring, some careful pruning is necessary. This summer in Maryland, for instance, most of my client’s plants were producing flowers in July. Sometimes, sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ sends up flowers a little ahead of the game. Sedum prefers sandy or gravelly soils PRUNING TO CONTROL BLOOMS However, too much shade will produce leggy stems that tend to flop over. I’ve found that Autumn Joy will also tolerate some shade (especially in hot summer climates). And like many sun-lovers, it prefers sandy to gravelly soil. In fact, sedum actually thrives in dry conditions. Most people water it only occasionally (every two weeks is usually sufficient.) Not only can it withstand the heat, but it also stores moisture in its leaves. That’s when sedum’s plate-like clusters of miniature pink flowers start to appear.Īs temperatures cool, their color gradually shifts from rose to brick red.Īnd eventually, when the plants dry, the flowers persist well into winter.įor those who dislike watering, this plant is for you! Sedum is a succulent, so it’s naturally drought tolerant. Quickly forming 2-foot, mounded clumps, Autumn Joy is an attractive garden filler, while also providing a great textured backdrop to summer’s hot-colored flowers.īut the real show begins around mid-August. For starters, it looks cool all summer with its bright green, fleshy foliage. There’s so much to love about this sturdy, upright perennial.

Moreover, the blooms last for weeks, eventually turning a dusty red that’s the perfect compliment to fall.

Are you searching for a dependable plant for your late-summer garden? Then look no further than sedum ‘Autumn Joy.’ Come August, its flowers are just starting to adopt a rosy pink hue.