Deeply Rooted

The Joy of Autumn

  • Kristelle Falk, Guest Author
  • Greenhouse Sales Manager, Falk Nurseries
Autumn Joy Sedum

Fall seemed to come over night, one day its 30 degrees and sunny next its cold, gray skies, and no leaves except for on the ground. In this season we lose all the beautiful colours of summer, and then what? Is there no final fight against the dull colours of winter? Never fear, there is one final weapon in our greenhouse to battle the ever approaching winter. And that weapon is called Autumn Joy Sedum. This is by far my favorite perennial, I have said that to many times in previous blogs? Oh well, can any garden truly have only one favorite? Anyway, Autumn Joy. What has this plant done to achieve my continuously given stamp of approval. First point I have been hinting to is the colour. Autumn Joy Sedum has vibrant, large pink clusters of flowers. Autumn joy sedum is a late bloomer, usually blooming between Augusts to November, promising colour for the later seasons when most flowers start to wilt. Another thing I love about the autumn joy sedum is it structure. This particular sedum and an incredible upright and strong structure meaning that when the large boom heads come out they don’t sag or snap off. This Sedum is a shorter perennial, staying around 12 – 24 inches tall and growing into a sort of upside down cone shape.

Autumn joy sedum also it drought tolerant. This perennial does not require much water and will suffer if overwatered. So if you tend to be forgetful about watering in the summer or are just busy and don’t always have time, this perennial is a good option for you. Obviously it requires watering regularly, especially on hotter days but it will need it less frequently. Along with drought tolerance the autumn joy sedum is cold tolerant and heat tolerant making it great for our seasonal mood swings going from hot too cold in a matter of hours.

So, great colour, structure, tolerance for most things, is there anything else that could make this plant more perfect? Yes, it attracts butterflies and bees like no other flower I personally have seen. So if you love watching Gods little critters flutter around I your gardens, I highly recommend this beautiful flower!