SEDUM. Cold and temperate regions, mostly Northern Hemisphere. A huge group, mostly of herbaceous perennials, highly variable in several respects. An alarming number of the cultivated species are reassigned to other genera in recent taxonomic schemes; I think I will wait a while, to see how things shake out. Many of these plants are quite showy, though the flowers are often secondary to the foliage as ornamental features. Both stems and leaves are typically succulent. Flowers are small, star shaped, and borne in head-like to spoke-like clusters. Depending on size and habit, they can be used for ground cover, borders, planter boxes and other containers, or the rock garden. Most thrive in sun or light shade, most soils, moderate to occasional watering when established. The following are hardy to 10^oF or below.

japonicum (senanense). Japan. A dense little mound or mat, usually under 6" tall. It has slender stems and crowded narrow, bright green leaves. Small clusters of bright yellow flowers cover the plant in summer.

‘Matrona’. I am still searching for better information on this hybrid, presumably involving S. telephium or S. spectabile. It has thick stems up to 1' high and huge (to 4") nearly round, blue-green leaves. It carries generous, yarrow-like clusters of light pink flowers in summer and early fall, when the leaves take on more purplish hues.

sieboldii (Hylotelephium sieboldii in the new scheme). Japan. This species produces compact crowns, with many trailing seasonal stems radiating out from the base. Both the stems and the roundish, scallop-edged leaves are usually grey-green in color, sometimes flushed with purple in new growth and again in the fall. Each shoot is tipped in late summer or fall by a dense short cluster of pink to crimson flowers. It dies to the base in winter. ‘Variegatum’ is distinguished by blue-green leaves marbled irregularly with cream. The flowers are pink. ‘Rose Glow’ is a hybrid of similar habit and foliage. However, the entire plant is suffused with purple. It is remarkably floriferous, bearing large clusters of deep purplish rose blossoms in late summer and fall.

spathulifolium. A matting native, often encountered on rock cliffs and shady banks. Its small, flattened leaves are packed into flat rosettes, from which spoke-like clusters of yellow flowers appear in summer. ‘Cape Blanco’ is the most widely circulated cultivar. It makes broad, dense mats with bright grey leaves. ‘Purpureum’ is another particularly compact selection, its leaves heavily tinged with purple, deepening in winter. Both are best in part shade, except near the coast.

spectabile (Hylotelephium spectabile). Along with S. telephium, below, this is a major source of the taller, showy modern hybrids. It forms dense clumps, with winter-deciduous stems up to 2’ high. These are closely lined by pairs or whorls of broad, thick leaves, each up to 4" long. Both stems and leaves are chalky blue-green in color. In late summer and fall broad, yarrow-like clusters of long-lasting flowers are borne at the shoot tips. ‘Brilliant’ is a traditional favorite with vivid pink flowers. ‘Stardust’ has pale leaves and pure white flowers, tinged with green.

telephium (Hylotelephium telephium). This is one of the really large, stocky garden stonecrops, now represented by many fairly similar selections. It clumps rather profusely at the base, making many-stemmed colonies. The seasonal stems are up to 2' tall, and stout. Each is closely lined by broad, scallop-edged, light green to grey-green leaves, up to 3" long. Dense, broad flower clusters tip the stems in late summer and fall (or most of the summer, near the coast). The flowers are colored various shades of pink and red. ‘Autumn Joy’ is one of the hybrids of this species, with salmon pink flowers which continue to deepen in color as they age, finally adopting an attractive rusty hue. It requires ample water but is hardy to 0^oF or below.

‘Vera Jameson’. This is a hybrid resembling S. sieboldii, above, but involving other species. It produces thick prostrate stems from a narrow base, both these and the broad 2" leaves heavily tinged with purple. In fall they are tipped by dense clusters of light to medium pink flowers, actually less showy than the leaves.