(See below for details of a web site with five Sedum photographs)
Looking down on a 2 x 1 inches clump of Sedum dasyphyllum.
(Click on the picture to see a slightly larger version -- 33K )
Most gardens contain at least a couple of Sedum plants, usually growing in a 'rock garden' area. A few species grow to more than half a metre in height but the majority are only two or three inches tall and commonly grow in a slowly spreading hummock. They are fairly popular and most garden centres have several species on offer.
The genus Sedum contains several hundred different species. You may know them as 'stonecrops' -- in the wild they grow in stony places and most often are found growing on cliff faces. They are close relatives of Sempervivum plants (commonly called 'houseleeks') and of Echeveria plants.
They are classified as succulents-- most have thick or thickish leaves and can survive a drought. Some are hardy, requiring little attention, but others are tender, demanding temperatures above freezing point during the winter. In Britain we usually grow the tender species in a greenhouse which is heated during the colder months.
I no longer grow plants of the genus Sedum seriously but I still enjoy seeing them in the wild. You can observe them growing in their natural habitat in most countries of the northern hemisphere.
If you are interested in Sedum plants (or in the plants of any of the related genera) I strongly recommend that you join the Sedum society.
If you have a query about your Sedum plants, you will do no better than to ask Ray Stephenson: ray@sedumray.ndo.co.uk
