• Home
  • Meet Mary
  • Speaking
  • Writing
  • Contact
  • Northern Gardener Book

My Northern Garden

September 20, 2010 · 3 Comments

Sedum is an Autumn Joy

Plants

‘Matrona’ in front garden

Sedum ‘Hot Stuff’

‘Autumn Joy’

The longer I garden in the North, the more I love sedum. It starts out as a dainty little cabbage head each spring, grows into  a perfect green (or purple) background to summer flowers, and then it flowers up in early to mid fall, going from greenish to pink to russet to brown, depending on the variety.

Sedum come in dozens of varieties — tall, short, light green, dark green or purple foliage — and most of them seem to be just as hardy as the rest. The best known sedum is probably ‘Autumn Joy’, a rock-solid plant that I have grown for almost a decade. I divided mine a couple of years ago and now have several nice clumps, which look like they may need dividing again. The popularity of ‘Autumn Joy has led to the marketing of several of its sports, including ‘Autumn Fire’, which is more compact that ‘Autumn Joy’ and has a deeper red bloom, and ‘Autumn Charm’ and ‘Autumn Delight’, two variegated sedum.

Among the more popular sedum now are the purple-leaved ones, such as ‘Black Jack’ and ‘Purple Emperor’. When I created a new front-yard garden a couple of years ago, I debated whether to plant a purple sedum and ended up choosing ‘Matrona’, which has deep purple stems but green leaves. What I really like about this plant is its habit: not too tall, upright, with lots of smallish bloom. Like Autumn Joy, it attracts butterflies and bees galore.  More recently, I planted a small sedum (‘Hot Stuff’ — don’t you love plant names) which has almost lime-green foliage and very dainty blooms.

While sedum look good in spring, summer, and fall, what I love most about them is what they add to the winter garden. Leave them standing and soon you will have snow-capped blooms that add an element of shape, texture, and fun to the garden.

What are your favorite sedums?

Related posts:

  1. Hooray for Autumn Joy As I’ve been thinking about the new flower bed I’ll...
  2. Installing a Front Yard Garden: The Finished Product Here’s what my new front-yard garden looks like. Kind of...
  3. A Peony in Bloom Yesterday I noticed my tree peony has started to bloom...
« A Hoya Blooms
How to Cure Squash »

Comments

  1. Auntie K says

    September 20, 2010 at 8:05 pm

    Hi Mary; I *think* I have a Matrona. I inherited it from a friend, who didn’t know the name of it. Mine sounds like the one you describe, but in addition to the purple stems, it has purple/wine colored veining in the leaves. I LOVE it (and so do the bees)! I like the creeping sedums almost as much as the upright ones. And, the one I use as a companion in the bed with the possible Matrona is Dragon’s Blood. It gets cute pink flowers on the wine colored leaves.

  2. Lisa Ueda says

    September 22, 2010 at 6:22 am

    Purple Emperor is my most recent favorite. I absolutely adore sedums, they’re such a great option for poor soils, and when they’re blooming, I get more bees covering them than the rest of my garden, they really go for them.

  3. Jodi says

    September 23, 2010 at 3:21 pm

    I love all the sedums, upright and creeping. Way to hard to pick a favorite. My newest sedum this year is called October Daphne. It looks great next to my grasses. Right now the Autum Joy and Autum Fire (? to wet to go look) are blooming now. I have had blooms on all my sedums all season long. The bees love them!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Connect

  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • RSS Feed for Posts

Grow it, Minnesota Podcast

Now Available!

My Northern Garden book

mynortherngarden_mary

In normal times, we’d be in our first week in Fl In normal times, we’d be in our first week in Florida right now, which would mean a visit to the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens on our first full day there. Always great art and gardens to see. Then some beach time and plans for our first preseason game. (Twins, Pirates, Orioles, it’s all great.) We were very lucky to get the trip in last year and hope to be in Sarasota again this time next year. Meanwhile I’m indulging in some Insta-nostalgia and feeling grateful for longer days and sunshine here in Minnesota. Which vacations are you remembering fondly these days? 
.
.
.
#gardentravel #florida #sarasota #publicgardens #marieselbybotanicalgardens #tbt #mngardener #longwinter
New issue of Northern Gardener and a cup of tea— New issue of Northern Gardener and a cup of tea—great way to pass a gloomy late afternoon. This issue is full of ideas for spring from @jenniferrensenbrink @monarchgardensbenjaminvogt @gbrownhudson @seedtofork and more. Stunning cover image from @riedelphoto.  Available March 1 on newsstands or subscribe through @mnhort! 
.
.
.
#northerngardener #mngardening #coldclimategardening #calibrachoa #gardenforfrogs #perennialgarden #gardentips #nativeplants #nativeplantgardening #growyourownfood #iceberglettuce #growasalad
Winter ❄️ sowing? Have you tried it? Today’s Winter ❄️ sowing? Have you tried it? Today’s guest on the Grow it, Minnesota podcast is Michelle Mero Riedel, who introduced me and readers of Northern Gardener to the concept more than a decade ago. It’s been one of  our most popular articles ever. 

In winter sowing, you create mini-greenhouses out of milk jugs and other recyclables. Perennial flowers 💐 can be planted in February and March, while annuals, vegetables and herbs can be set out in April. Mother Nature does most of the work. It’s a budget friendly way to grow lots of plants! 

For more info, check out the podcast or a new blog post over on mynortherngarden.com. Links to all in bio. 
.
.
.
#seedstarting #seeds #wintersowing #wintersown #gardeninspiration #howtogarden #garden #mygarden #growyourown #mynortherngarden #gardeninfo #mnpodcast #gardenpodcast 
#mngardening #minnesota #mnhort
#gardeninglife #coldclimategardening
#stpaulgarden #stpaulmn
#Zone4garden #zone4b
What is this? Like day 10 or 12 with temps below z What is this? Like day 10 or 12 with temps below zero? Time to ramble back to June when the penstemon was covered in bees and the veronica looked so pretty. June is my second favorite month in the garden (believe it or not, September is number one for me). What’s your favorite month? P.S. only 14 weeks until June! 
.
.
.
#garden #mygarden #mynortherngarden #gardeninspo
#mngardening #minnesota #mnhort
#gardeninglife #coldclimategardening
#stpaulgarden #stpaulmn
#Zone4garden #zone4b
Oh boy, check out the bucket hat and shades. I was Oh boy, check out the bucket hat and shades. I was digging through some old family photos and came across this one of me circa 1990s, I’d guess, weeding at our first house. I had a lot to learn (like A LOT) about gardening, and little did I know then that I’d be writing about gardening for a living someday. Lots of good thing happen in the garden. 
.
.
.
#tbt #mygardenstory #mynortherngarden #gardenwriter #weeding #oldphoto #buckethatsareback
Somebody brought me a bouquet! Thank you, @resawit Somebody brought me a bouquet! Thank you, @resawithoutherspoon 
.
.
.
#flowers #bouquet #flowersmakemehappy #plantsmakepeoplehappy
The latest episode of Grow it, Minnesota is all ab The latest episode of Grow it, Minnesota is all about plants with medicinal uses.  I interview author and herbalist Matthew Alfs about his new book on Edible and Medicinal Wild Plants of the Midwest. We talked about a few of my favorite plants such as wild geraniums and anise hyssop and also about what we call weeds that have other uses. 

It was a fascinating discussion with a real expert. Matthew recommends consulting multiple sources before using any plant medicinally and his book would be a good one to start with. 

Listen to the podcast at growitminnesota.com or wherever you get your podcasts. 
.
.
.
#gardenpodcast #anisehyssop #geranium #geraniummaculatum #dandelion #herbalist #plantsareamazing #minnesota #mnhspress #mnplants #mnpodcast
I love ❤️ that my local grocery store has plan I love ❤️ that my local grocery store has plants in the temptation spot near the 10-items or less lane. They’re better for you than chips and just as enticing. I resisted this time but plant impulse buys happen to all of us! 
.
.
.
#houseplants #babyplants #succulents #impulsebuy #mystpaul #stpaul #mngardener #minnesota #wintergardening #indoorgardening #toocute
Leaving plants up in winter gives you something to Leaving plants up in winter gives you something to look at, but helps pollinators and birds more. As the sun gets stronger in late January, these are a few of my favorites for winter interest. 
.
.
.
#winterinterest #mnwinter #boltonia #anisehyssop #littlebluestem #birdfriendly #pollinatorgarden
#garden #mygarden #mynortherngarden #gardeninspo
#mngardening #minnesota #mnhort
#gardeninglife #coldclimategardening
#stpaulgarden #stpaulmn
#Zone4garden #zone4b
What’s a northern gardener to do all winter? In What’s a northern gardener to do all winter? In these pandemic times, I’ve been having fun making quilts. Small, easy, no stress quilts. And, these garden themed fabrics on discount through Etsy were irresistible. 

I’m a beginner quilter and learned the craft through YouTube! (My favorite tutorials are the scrap buster quilts from @justgetitdonequilts) This fabric bundle included 21 different half yard prints, so I’ll probably have fabric left over for next winter too. 

How are you keeping sane/busy this winter? 
.
.
.
#gardenlife #gardenfabric #modafabric #offseason #beginnerquilter #winter #minnesotawinter #minnesota
Sometimes amaryllis are just so extra—like extra Sometimes amaryllis are just so extra—like extra large! What I really like about this one (it’s called Magic Green) is that the blooms are just right. Showy but not excessive. So far, the color is more cream than green though there is a pale green undertone. Beautiful variety! 

And, for those who may notice those tell-tale yellow strips in the pots—yes, I am having an ongoing fungus gnat issue. Not out of control, but definitely irritating. 

How’s your indoor garden 🪴 growing? 
.
.
.
#amaryllis #amaryllisflower #magicgreenamaryllis #indoorplants #bulbs #wintergarden #indoorgarden #houseplants #topview #mngarden #mngardening #bloomingbulbs
We’re still a few weeks away from seed starting We’re still a few weeks away from seed starting time, but I’m looking forward to having baby plants in the house. 🌱My conversation with Meg from @seedtofork on the Grow it, Minnesota podcast got me thinking about how I might change my set up this year. I’ve never used heat mats for seed starting since I keep my seedlings in the heated part of the house. But maybe this is the year to try that for peppers and tomatoes? Meg swears by heating mats! 

She also got me thinking about LED lights vs. fluorescent. I’m not inclined to replace lights that are still good, but light technology is changing. A lot to learn! 

Link to the podcast in the bio. Also links to seed starting charts and tips in the show notes at growitminnesota.com. 
.
.
.
#seedstarting #growyourownfood #startfromseed #gardentipsandtricks #seeds #veggies #vegetablegarden #coldclimategardening #gardenpodcast #mnpodcast #mngardening #minnesota
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Top Posts & Pages

  • How to Pollinate a Meyer Lemon Tree
  • Big Changes in Minnesota Hardiness Zone Map
  • Winter Sowing for Flowers and Vegetables
  • Frost Dates in the Vegetable Garden
  • Taking the Straw Bales' Temperature
  • What to Do with Not-Quite-Ripe Winter Squash? Recipes Included
  • Winter Sowing Native Plants, Two Ways
  • An Easy Way to Protect Plants from Rabbits and Deer
  • How to Use the Winter Sowing Method to Start Seeds Outdoors
  • How to Grow Lemons in the North (Plus a Recipe)

Post Categories

  • Books/Writing
  • Climate
  • How to
  • Plants
  • Recipes
  • Uncategorized
  • Why We Garden

Copyright © 2021 · captivating theme by Restored 316