The genus Sedum is well known to most gardeners and other plant lovers. It is just one of 33 genera within the family Crassulaceae, other familiar members include Kalanchoe, Crassula (Jade plant), Echeveria and Sempervivum (both known as Hens and Chicks). Swollen, succulent foliage enable these plants to withstand extended periods of drought and neglect. It is this attribute that endears Sedum (and friends) to their admirers, but it’s really their versatility and beauty that make them easy to grow and difficult to dislike.

Foliage color ranges from green through yellow, red, burgundy and blue, while flowers can be white, yellow, pink or red with many combinations of the two categories. Growth habit can vary from low ground cover, creeping type plants, to those of a more showy upright stature. Flowering can begin as early as mid summer (especially the ground covers) but it is in the late summer to autumn that these plants come into their own with the taller selections providing color and food for late season butterflies and then continuing to hold their form over the colder months to help with winter interest in the garden.

Drought resistance is a trait that is becoming more valuable as climates change and rainfall patterns fluctuate. Sedum’s shallow root system and water conserving habit also make them ideal candidates for use in vegetated roofs. Many plants keep their stomata (pores) closed during the heat of the day allowing them to conserve water but usually this occurs at the expense of photosynthesis (carbohydrate production) since carbon dioxide cannot enter the leaves if the stomata are closed. Recall that photosynthesis, simply stated, is the process in which a plant uses the energy in sunlight to combine water and carbon dioxide to produce sugar and oxygen. The ability of Crassulaceae to store carbon dioxide taken in during the cooler temperatures of darkness allow them to reduce water loss by keeping the stomata closed when temperatures soar. This process is known as CAM (Crassulacean Acid Metabolism) since it was first discovered in the family Crassulaceae but is often seen in plants adapted to arid conditions.

Common names include Stonecrop and Live Forever, both fairly indicative of the ease with which these plants grow. The genus name of Sedum comes from the Latin sedo – to sit. The assumption being that the plants will take root and ‘sit’ wherever segments that may break off of the parent plant may find a home. Sedum are generally very easy to propagate from stem cuttings and seed. Well drained, lean soils are preferred especially during the colder months, winter wetness can be deadly. The vast majority of species originate in the northern hemisphere around the world.

Depending upon which source one is referencing Sedum is comprised of over 400 species, most of which can, and do, interbreed producing innumerable hybrids and cultivars. Therein lies the rub, with this many variations there cannot help but be a great deal of diversity within the genus. Diversity, to the ‘splitters’ of the taxonomic world, is not a good thing. It indicates (to them at least) that the genus needs to be split or redistributed among two or more other genera. Such is the case with the genus Sedum. The International Botanical Congress has suggested that several species be removed from Sedum and now classified as Hylotelephium (also Dudleya, Rhodiola and Phedimus – but that is another story). This change is slowly being accepted in the botanical world, as more authorities are using the new terminology, or at least referencing Hylotelephium in addition to Sedum. When did this modification take place? 1977. The world of botanical nomenclature moves at the pace of a peripatetic sloth. But after over 30 years in does appear as if we are going to have to get used to Hylotelephium as the generic name of some of our favorite upright Sedum such as S. spectabile, S. sieboldii, and S. telephium and their cultivars. But don’t be in a great hurry to change your plant markers, if it has taken this long for the trade to start to accept this change, the education of the public will be a work in progress for some time to come. The cultivars mentioned above are all rightfully Hylotelephium and may be listed as such in trade lists and reference guides, but you will be just as likely to find them under Sedum. All are excellent contenders for growth in containers or gardens, and make excellent cut flowers either fresh or dried.