Sedum 'Autumn Fire'

Sedum 'Autumn Fire': Taller, Sturdier and Rusty Red by Fall

'Autumn Fire' sits quietly all summer like the coworker who never talks in meetings. Then late summer hits, dusty rose heads go rusty red, and suddenly it's running the place. QUIET ONES, AM I RIGHT?

Plant Characteristics:

• Botanical Name: Sedum spectabile 'Autumn Fire' (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: Large, flat clusters of tiny starry flowers that open dusty rose and age to rusty red
• Bloom Time: Late summer to fall (August to October)
• Foliage: Thick, succulent, light green leaves on strong upright stems
• Features: Dried flower heads stand through winter

Where to Plant: Plant it in the middle of a sunny border, in groups along a walk or in a gravel or rock garden. It copes with dry, lean soil and summer heat better than most perennials.

Companion Plants: Helictotrichon 'Sapphire' adds a blue oat grass at 60 to 100 cm, its fine blades a perfect foil for the fleshy sedum leaves. Echinacea paradoxa brings yellow coneflowers at 75 to 90 cm from June to August, before the sedum colours up. In front, Salvia 'Rose Marvel' blooms rose at 30 to 35 cm from June to September. It's a dry, sunny planting that carries colour from June into October.

Plant Care: Plant in full sun in well-drained soil. Average or even poor soil is best. Rich soil and too much water make tall sedums floppy. Water through the first season, then only in a long drought. Heavy, wet clay in winter is the real enemy, so add grit or plant on a slight rise if your soil stays soggy. Leave the flower heads standing over winter. They hold snow nicely and give birds something to look at. Cut the old stems to the ground in early spring before new growth starts. If an older clump opens up in the centre, divide it in spring every three or four years.

History: Showy stonecrop, Sedum spectabile, comes from China and Korea and is now placed by botanists in Hylotelephium, though most nurseries still use the old name. 'Autumn Fire' is a Canadian selection and an improvement on 'Autumn Joy', with a taller habit and stronger stems.

Final Thoughts: Bees and butterflies pack in for the late show, and the dried heads stick around all winter. Deer pass. LEAVE IT STANDING. IT EARNED THE OVERTIME.