This winter was a particularly harsh one, so as new growth is starting I’m excited to see what has survived. Over the last few years, I’ve planted a number of sedums in hot dry areas that other plants have not fared well in. I also have almost too many Sedum “Autumn Joy” around the yard. Happily, many of them seem to have survived and are already greening up the garden.

Sedum takesimense “Gold Carpet”

Sedum album “Coral Carpet”

Sedum spurium ‘Blaze’

Sedum “Autumn Joy”
I have clumps of Sedum “Autumn Joy” all around my yard that started from only a couple of plants. In my soil conditions, they are fast growers and easy to divide in only a few years.  These are one of those plants that I’ve found that “less is more” when developing a landscape plan. They will fill in the space fairly quickly so don’t over plant.  They are also one of the earlier plants to begin leafing out, despite them being a fall flowering plant.

 Hens and Chicks
I don’t usually leave the potted Hens and Chicks out over the winter, but this was one of those winters that snuck up on me and I never got around to putting them on the porch.  It seems that they mostly survived and don’t look much worse than normal.  I did expect the center of this one to be dead since it had flowered so beautifully last summer.  That marks the end of its life cycle.  Depending on what the pot looks like in a couple of weeks, I’ll pull out all the dead parts and try to plant the chicks in the empty spots.  Otherwise, I’ll pull it apart and plant the remaining plants in the garden.

I’m still looking for the Hens and Chicks that are in the garden to appear.  They really don’t die back, so the fact that they are “missing” suggests maybe they didn’t survive the winter.  Maybe they’ll surprise me.

How did your succulents do over the winter?

Photos by Steve