Sedum in Florida

by Karen Harris
(Clearwater, FL)

Hi,

Are there any Sedum varieties that would do well in poorly irrigated spots in a home landscape in central FL, zone 9b-10a? In other words, ranging from 95 degrees with no irrigation unless I remember to water by hand, down to 30 degrees for a few hours in winter, with very rainy periods once or twice a year (like 1-2 inches per day for a week or longer). Could I make the question any harder?? ;-)
Oh, and if any plant fits the bill, what do they cost?

Drought Smart Plants reply:
Hi Karen,
I'm more of an expert in which varieties and species of Sedum will survive the cold - not the warm humid conditions in Florida!

Having said that, most Sedum will thrive in dry soil - well drained, sandy, gravelly or raised beds, so providing those conditions will be perfectly adequate.

Periodic flooding won't hurt them as long as they can dry out between, and not remain waterlogged for too long. Water deeply and occasionally until the plants are established, then taper off to see how much (or how little) water they need to remain healthy.

Avoid fertilizing the plants at all costs - or you'll end up with another kudzu when they try and take over the world.

Here are a few varieties of low growing Sedum that are not invasive, retain their leaves and will give texture and colour to the landscape year round:

Sedum spurium 'John Creech' - although it tends to have a dormant period in the winter this one quickly recovers and has fresh green foliage and pink flowers.

Sedum reflexum 'Angelina' - golden to chartreuse foliage, responds well to a haircut.

Sedum cauticola - pale powder blue foliage with hot pink blooms in late summer.

As for cost, this varies with the size of the container they grow in, but can range from $1 per plug in a 72 plug flat, to $9.00 for a 6" pot. I can only ship within Canada - sorry, but contact me for other suppliers in your area.

Comments for Sedum in Florida

Click here to add your own comments

Dec 02, 2021

Reply to sedum in Florida
by: Mosely

I live in Georgia, near Savannah and have more experience with this. I'd recommend coral reef sedum (it grows well in my garden) and is cold hardy enough to freeze a couple times but comes back every summer. It can also take the moisture from the rainy season we tend to get early summer.

But make sure your soil has plenty of aeration using rocks/pebbles, pumice (better than perlite because perlite will float away), and CHICKEN GRIT (NOT CHICKEN FEED, DECOMPOSED GRANITE ONLY). Other sedum that works well here are lime zinger, sunsparkler, blue elf(a favorite of mine), ogon. Any with the fat, flat leaves do extremely well. I've had less success with the skinny tree type (blue spruce, yellow ball/lemon coral, Angelina, lineare/urchin, any needle type) they can't usually take the hot, humid late summer months. I have purchased those sedum flats from lowes/HD that are available sometimes, but once they're planted, the needle sedum are the first to go. If you wish to try them, they are fun and easy to cut into shapes, but don't use the bottom coconut liner that they are sold in, wash it and use it for lining other pots!

Plus, I have had new sedum randomly pop up in my garden from flats I planted years ago that I thought were DEAD!! That's always exciting! Good luck and I hope this helps!

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Ask the Horticulturist.