Sedum 'Blue Spruce'

Sedum 'Blue Spruce': A Tiny Blue Forest, Lying Down

'Blue Spruce' looks like a Christmas tree that got shrunk in the dryer and decided to live its best life on the ground. Blue-green needles, bright yellow stars on top. DECK THE ROCK GARDEN.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Sedum reflexum 'Blue Spruce' (also listed as Sedum rupestre or Petrosedum)
• Common Name: Stonecrop, Blue Spruce Stonecrop
• Height: 10–25 cm (4–10 in), with the foliage mat low and the flower stems taller
• Spread: 30–45 cm (12–18 in)
• Flowers: Bright yellow, star-shaped flowers in clusters on mauve-pink stems
• Bloom Time: Summer (June to August)
• Foliage: Needle-like, succulent, blue-green leaves that stay evergreen in milder winters

Where to Plant: Use it to edge a path, fill cracks beside flagstones, spill over a wall or carpet a gravel garden. It's great in troughs, green roofs and containers. It handles hot, dry sites and poor, sandy soil, but keep it beside foot traffic rather than under it.

Companion Plants: Use 'Blue Spruce' at the front of a sunny, dry bed with orange poppies, violet salvia and gold daisies. Coreopsis UpTick™ Gold adds golden daisies at 30 to 36 cm from June to September. Salvia 'East Friesland' brings violet-purple spikes at about 45 cm in June and July. Papaver 'Prince of Orange' opens tangerine poppies at 70 to 80 cm in May and June. Panicum virgatum rises behind at 90 to 150 cm in flower, a native switchgrass.

Plant Care: Plant in full sun in very well-drained soil. Lean, sandy or gritty soil keeps it compact and its colour strong. In clay, add grit or plant on a slope or raised bed, since wet winter soil is the main cause of loss. Water to establish it, then only during long droughts. No fertilizer needed. Trim off spent flower stems after bloom to keep the mat neat. It spreads steadily by rooting stems. Pull or snip pieces from the edges to control it, and replant those pieces anywhere you want more.

History: Sedum reflexum (often now treated as Sedum rupestre) is a European stonecrop that grows wild on rocky slopes and dry ground across much of Europe and has long been grown in rock gardens. 'Blue Spruce' is a blue-leaved selection named for its resemblance to the needles of a blue spruce.

Final Thoughts: Dry, sunny and ignored suits it perfectly. Deer leave it alone and the bees come for the flowers. NO TINSEL REQUIRED.