Are you searching for a dependable plant for your late-summer garden? Then look no further than sedum ‘Autumn Joy.’ Come August, its flowers are just starting to adopt a rosy pink hue. Moreover, the blooms last for weeks, eventually turning a dusty red that’s the perfect compliment to fall.

SUMMER LOVES AUTUMN JOY

There’s so much to love about this sturdy, upright perennial. For starters, it looks cool all summer with its bright green, fleshy foliage. Quickly forming 2-foot, mounded clumps, Autumn Joy is an attractive garden filler, while also providing a great textured backdrop to summer’s hot-colored flowers.

But the real show begins around mid-August. That’s when sedum’s plate-like clusters of miniature pink flowers start to appear.

As temperatures cool, their color gradually shifts from rose to brick red.

And eventually, when the plants dry, the flowers persist well into winter. 

HATE TO WATER? SEDUM IS YOUR PLANT

For those who dislike watering, this plant is for you! Sedum is a succulent, so it’s naturally drought tolerant. Not only can it withstand the heat, but it also stores moisture in its leaves. Most people water it only occasionally (every two weeks is usually sufficient.) 

Sedum needs very little watering

In fact, sedum actually thrives in dry conditions. And like many sun-lovers, it prefers sandy to gravelly soil. I’ve found that Autumn Joy will also tolerate some shade (especially in hot summer climates). However, too much shade will produce leggy stems that tend to flop over. 

Sedum prefers sandy or gravelly soils

PRUNING TO CONTROL BLOOMS

Sometimes, sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ sends up flowers a little ahead of the game. This summer in Maryland, for instance, most of my client’s plants were producing flowers in July. To prevent this from occurring, some careful pruning is necessary.

Pruning perennials couldn’t be simpler if you follow the advice in Tracy DiSabato-Aust’s The Well-Tended Perennial Garden. She recommends pruning sedum stems in June (before buds) to control for height and period of bloom. I’ve followed her method for years and the results are a sturdier plant whose flowers reliably appear in early August. It’s a great way to ensure your garden receives a big burst of color at the end of the season.

That said, sometimes the blooms come up REALLY early, which was the case this year in Maryland. Accordingly, I made the drastic decision to cut back the emerging flowers to a pair of lateral leaves. This left some stubby growth for a few weeks, but the plant recovered. It produced a flush of new growth followed by flowers a few weeks later.

MAKING BABIES

Want more of a good thing? Autumn Joy is easy to propagate. Simply divide in spring and replant. Or, you can take stem cuttings in summer. The leaves root easily in soil to form new plants.

POLLINATORS LOVE AUTUMN JOY

One glance at my crop in the garden and it’s easy to see why pollinators love it. The large, flat clusters of flowers with easy-access nectar are butterfly and bee magnets. Sedum is one of the most active of all the late-summer flowers. 

DEER LOVE SEDUM TOO

Autumn Joy is mostly free of pests and diseases, save for some occasional nibbles from slugs or mealy bugs. Its primary predators, however, are deer, who will happily devour it. To protect my plants in deer-infested areas, I net them with black mesh (bird netting). It’s not ideal, but it preserves the clumps and allows me to enjoy the flowers.

Deer love sedum, too

Ready to give sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ a try? Remember – odd numbers read best in a garden because they produce a more natural look. I recommend purchasing 3 or 5 plants and planting them in a group for the best effect.

Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ grows in zones 4-11.

To see photos of my garden designs, including plant lists, check out my Instagram at carole.herebydesign. I post seasonally from spring through fall.