Sedum (Herbstfreude Group) 'Herbstfreude'
Autumn is a great time to enjoy your garden, and there are many plants still adding colour and structure towards the end of the year. A great example is Sedum 'Herbstfreude' which in early autumn bears large, flat flower heads made up of masses of tiny flowers that open deep pink. As the flowers fade they take on brownish hues, and the large flower heads give great structure and texture to an autumnal border.
This Sedum combines well with other grasses and late-flowering perennials such as asters. At RHS Garden Hyde Hall we use this sedum in a variety of plantings, but it looks most effective on Clover Hill where it is planted in large drifts and combines well with grasses such as Calamagrostis and Pennisetum.
Vital statistics
- Common name
- Stonecrop 'Herbstfreude'
- Family
- Crassulaceae
- Height & spread
- Up to 60cm high and wide
- Form
- Clump-forming herbaceous perennial
- Soil
- Moderately fertile, well drained, neutral or alkaline
- Aspect
- Full sun, south facing, exposed
- Hardiness
- Fully hardy
Sedum
This genus contains 500 or more species of usually succulent annuals and evergreen, semi-evergreen, or deciduous biennials, perennials, subshrubs and shrubs. It is widely distributed, being found mostly in mountains of the northern hemisphere, with some in the arid areas of South America.
This is a variable genus. The leaves can be alternate, opposite or whorled, fleshy, and cylindrical or flattened. The flowers are in terminal cymes, panicles or corymbs of usually star-shaped or five-petalled blooms which are borne in summer or autumn.
Hardy species are suitable for rock gardens or the front of a herbaceous border, a city courtyard, gravel, coastal or wildlife garden. Tender species can be grown in a temperate greenhouse or as houseplants.
Sedum was the Latin name used for various succulents, mostly species of sedums and sempervivums, from sedo, to sit, due to the manner in which some species grow on rocks and walls.
All parts of the plant may cause upset if ingested and the sap may irritate skin.
Sedum (Herbstfreude Group) 'Herbstfreude'
This herbaceous perennial forms a clump to 60cm tall, with fleshy, oblong, glaucous dark green leaves and large flat terminal clusters of starry deep pink flowers in early autumn. These move through pinkish bronze to bronze and then fade to brown by mid-autumn. It is drought-tolerant and nectar-rich, encouraging beneficial insects into the garden.
Cultivation
- Grow in moderately fertile, well-drained neutral to slightly alkaline soil in full sun.
- Cut back after flowering to maintain shape or leave the flowerheads over winter.
- Sedums are generally pest free, though may be damaged by slugs, snails and vine weevil. May be subject to fungal and bacterial crown rot and root rot.
Propagation
- Divide in spring or take softwood cuttings of non-flowering shoots in early summer.
AGM
The RHS Herbaceous Plant Committee awarded Sedum (Herbstfreude Group) 'Herbstfreude' an Award of Garden Merit and described it as:
'Herbaceous perennial forming a clump to 60cm tall, with fleshy, oblong, glaucous dark green leaves and large flat terminal clusters of starry deep pink flowers.'