Stonecrop Plants: "Autumn Joy" Sedum

Here's how plant taxonomy breaks down "Autumn Joy" sedums. The genus is Sedum, the cultivar is 'Autumn Joy.' Sedums are referred to by the common name, "stonecrop" plants, although "sedum" itself is so widely used as to be virtually a common name.

Autumn Joy sedum plants are herbaceous perennials.

While these clump-forming stonecrop plants (roughly 2’ x 2’) are noted for their succulent foliage, Autumn Joy sedum bears an unusual flower well worth growing in its own right. Flowers are massed together in heads that are 3" or more across. Autumn Joy sedum's flowers can be yellow, orange, red, or pink and appear in late summer-early fall. The leaves, which grow in whorls, are sometimes variegated and range in color from bluish-green or greenish-yellow to reddish-pink or almost off-white.

Autumn Joy sedum can be grown in planting zones 3-9.

Grow these stonecrop plants in full sun to partial shade and in well-drained soil. Autumn Joy sedum is drought-tolerant once established.

Autumn Joy sedum is used in border plantings and in rock gardens. Its relatively late blooming period -- the source of this cultivar's name -- is useful for those trying to achieve four-season interest in their yards.

These stonecrop plants attract butterflies. Fortunately, deer pests do not like them, making them effective in deer control.

"Stonecrop" is from the Middle English and literally means "sprouting from the stone," a reference to the plant's commonly being seen growing amongst stones (which provide the drainage that stonecrop plants crave). "Stonecrop" doubles as the name of the family to which the genus, Sedum belongs.

"Sedum" itself derives from this same observation of where stonecrop plants tend to grow. It comes from the Latin, sedere, meaning "sit" -- as in "sitting" atop the stones.