There are more than 300 different species of sedum, known popularly as stonecrop, growing around world, but the varietial called Autumn Joy is one of the most popular.
With an upright form, fleshy pale green leaves, and abundant clusters of flowers that appear late in the season when the rest of the garden is winding down, it’s a stellar perennial. (Here are more great full-sun perennial plants.)
It’s an excellent plant in mixed borders, lining walkways, in rock gardens, or when planted in masses, and Autumn Joy does equally well in pots or garden beds. Plus, it’s one of the least expensive perennials you can add to your garden!
Autumn Joy’s flowers start light pink and deepen to mauve-red throughout the fall. The flowers are a great source of late-season nectar for pollinators, which flock to the profuse blooms. The blooms also last for weeks and weeks in a vase, and they dry well, too.
After the first heavy frost, the spent flower heads remain a handsome accent in the winter landscape. Other varieties that are similar include more compact types such as Pure Joy, densely-mounded Pride and Joy, and Superstar, which boasts nearly turquoise foliage.
Here’s what else you need to know about this almost-perfect perennial:
Absolutely! This is one of the most carefree perennials you can grow, and no garden should be without it. It’s is suited for USDA Hardiness zones 3 to 9 (find yours here), so you can grow it in most regions of the country.
It doesn’t mind heat and humidity, comes back reliably even after a very cold winter, and tolerates poor soil. Deer also tend to leave it alone. It eventually reaches about two feet tall and three feet wide.
Find a spot in full sun, which is considered 6 or more hours of direct sunlight per day. If you give Autumn Joy too much shade, it will stretch toward the sun and become leggy.
When planting, dig a hole about twice as wide as the nursery pot it came in, then place the plant in the hole so that it’s at the same depth as it was in the pot. Backfill the soil, tamp down, and water well.
If planting in the fall, make sure to get it in at least six weeks before the ground freezes in your area in order to allow it to get established before winter.
After a freeze, it's fine to trim off the foliage or leave it intact over the winter. Next spring, don’t be too eager to pull your plant up if it seems dead. Look closely: Tiny green buds start pushing through the crown of the plant in early to mid spring.
It’s not totally necessary, but you can give it a handful of all-purpose fertilizer in early spring, if you like, when you’re feeding all your other perennials. In very hot, dry summers, water it occasionally.
Yes! When your clump gets too large, or if you want to make another plant (for free!), simply use your garden spade to take off a piece from the edges.
It’s one of the easiest perennials to divide, so don’t be shy about cutting through the roots. Replant elsewhere in the garden, and water well. It’s best to divide perennials in spring or fall, not in the heat of summer.
You can grow it as a houseplant, but honestly, it doesn’t bloom great and is much happier outdoors, soaking up the heat and humidity of summer. Give it the right conditions outdoors, and you’ll enjoy this beautiful and reliable plant for many years.
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