Sedum SunSparkler® 'Blue Pearl'

Sedum SunSparkler® 'Blue Pearl': Smoky Blue Mounds Lit With Pink Stars

'Blue Pearl' is the smoky blue clutch purse of the rock garden. Round leaves with a purple tint, then hot pink flowers pop out like it's finally time for the gala. PEARLS ARE MANDATORY.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Sedum hybrid (also listed as Hylotelephium)
• Common Name: Stonecrop
• Series: SunSparkler®, from breeder Chris Hansen
• Height: 15–20 cm (6–8 in)
• Spread: 35–45 cm (14–18 in)
• Flowers: Hot pink, star-shaped flowers in rounded clusters
• Bloom Time: Late summer to early fall (August to September)
• Foliage: Round, succulent leaves in smoky blue tinged with purple, holding their colour through the season

Where to Plant: Use it at the front of a sunny border, along a path, in rock gardens and in containers. It suits a pollinator patch where you want late colour at knee level or lower, and it's happy in hot, dry spots where lusher perennials sulk.

Companion Plants: Use 'Blue Pearl' at the front of a sunny, dry bed with variegated iris, rosy alliums and soft yellow coneflowers. Iris pallida 'Albovariegata' adds cream-striped leaves and lavender-blue flowers at about 60 cm in May and June. Allium 'Serendipity' brings rosy-purple globes at 38 to 51 cm in July and August. Echinacea 'Mellow Yellows' adds soft yellow coneflowers at 80 cm from June to October. Elymus virginicus stands behind at 90 to 125 cm, a native wild rye.

Plant Care: Plant in full sun for the best leaf colour and the tightest habit. It will take a little afternoon shade, but the plant gets looser and less blue. Give it well-drained soil. Sandy or gravelly soil is ideal. In heavy clay, mix in grit or plant in a raised spot, because soggy winter soil causes more losses than cold. Water through the first season, then only in a long dry spell. Skip the fertilizer. Cut the old stems back in early spring before new growth starts. Divide in spring if the clump opens in the middle after a few years.

History: 'Blue Pearl' belongs to the SunSparkler® series of compact, mounding sedums bred by Chris Hansen in Michigan, who also bred 'Cherry Tart' and 'Firecracker'. Its exact parentage has not been published.

Final Thoughts: Drought tolerant, deer resistant and just low enough to edge a sunny path. PEARLS BEFORE SWINE? NO. PEARLS BEFORE BEES.