Guest Author - Hellie T.

Ice Plant or Stonecrop Sedum spectabile

An old fashioned hardy herbaceous perennial that brings beautiful autumn/fall colour to your English Garden and looks particularly lovely when planted in big drifts.

The name originally comes from the Latin sedo which means to sit – this is because some varieties of the plant just love to grow in walls or on rocks but they should not be confused with this taller sedum.
The spectabile part means brilliant or ostentatious, which it certainly is!

The whitey grey/green coloured foliage is thick and fleshy and they produce large flat heads made up of tiny flowers.
Autumn Joy and Brilliant are rosy pink in colour.
Carmen is rosy red.
Ruby Glow is red.
Stardust has white flowers.
They all grow to between 12 to 24 inches (30 – 60 cms).

Cultivation

Ice Plants are very easy to grow and will soon produce a dramatic display with very little work on your part.

They like a sunny spot in well drained soil and will tolerate really dry spells once they have become established.

Sedum spectabile is hardy to Zone 6 (-20°C)
It flowers from August to the first frosts.

Divide established plants from October to March
Stem cuttings can be taken in spring or autumn and will root readily in water or when potted up.(If you should happen to break off a stem accidentally, pop it into a jar of water and just see how easily it starts to root).

The flowers can be dried for use in floral arrangements and are much loved by butterflies and bees.
Rather bizarrely in the language of flowers - sedum spectabile means your looks freeze me!

Enjoy your garden!