Sedum 'Autumn Joy'

Sedum 'Autumn Joy': The Fall Classic Whose Heads Keep Changing

'Autumn Joy' changes outfits more than a bride at a three-day wedding. Green, then pale pink, then rose, then copper, then rusty brown, and every look gets a round of applause. WARDROBE BUDGET: UNLIMITED.

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Sedum 'Autumn Joy' (syn. 'Herbstfreude'; now often listed as Hylotelephium)
• Common Name: Stonecrop, Showy Stonecrop
• Height: 45–60 cm (18–24 in)
• Spread: 45–60 cm (18–24 in)
• Flowers: Broad, flat heads of tiny starry flowers. Greenish buds open pale pink, deepen to rose, then age to copper and rusty brown.
• Bloom Time: Late summer to fall (August to October)
• Foliage: Thick, succulent, grey-green leaves with toothed edges
• Features: Winter interest from the dried heads

Where to Plant: It belongs in the middle of a sunny border, in mass plantings and along hot, dry foundations. It handles the lean, dry strip by a driveway and reflected heat off pavement, and the flower heads cut well, fresh or dried.

Companion Plants: Give 'Autumn Joy' a sunny, dry bed with silver leaves, blue false indigo and lilac beardtongue. Festuca 'Boulder Blue' edges the front with fine blue tufts at 20 to 30 cm. Artemisia 'Silver Lining' adds silvery leaves at 30 to 40 cm. Penstemon 'Blackbeard' brings lilac-purple tubes on dark stems at 70 to 85 cm in June and July. Baptisia australis adds indigo-blue spikes at 90 to 120 cm in May and June.

Plant Care: Plant in full sun in well-drained soil. Skip the compost and fertilizer, because rich soil and too much water make it grow soft and flop open. If your soil is heavy clay that stays wet in winter, add grit or plant on a slight rise. Water through the first season, then mostly leave it alone. Leave the dried flower heads standing for winter and cut the stems to the ground in early spring. If the clump splays open in the middle, pinch the stems back by half in late May or early June for a shorter, sturdier plant. Divide in spring every three or four years if the centre thins out.

History: 'Autumn Joy' was raised in Germany by nurseryman Georg Arends, who released it in 1955 as 'Herbstfreude', a hybrid between showy stonecrop and Sedum telephium. It holds the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit and is still one of the most widely planted perennials in North America.

Final Thoughts: It's a magnet for bees and butterflies when everything else is calling it quits, and drought barely registers. THE GARDEN'S BEST DRESSED, EVERY SINGLE SEASON.