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To decorate alpine hills, flower bed borders and slopes, many growers use false sedum (Sedum spurium). The creeping succulent has gained popularity for its spectacular appearance and unpretentious care. Despite the fact that the mountain slopes of the Caucasus and subalpine meadows are considered the natural habitat of the plant, today sedum grows in more northern regions and has established itself as a frost-resistant species.
Description of the stonecrop of the false
Sedum is a herbaceous perennial plant of the Tolstyankov family, with a creeping rhizome and highly branched fibrous roots. Its height is from 5 cm to 25 cm. Stonecrop stalks are located on the ground or slightly rise above it. On short (up to 6 cm) vegetative shoots, the leaves are crowded, on longer (up to 25 cm) - fertile stems, foliage with pubescence, rough.
The leaves of the sedum are fleshy, rich green, opposite, 3 cm long. The shape of the plate is ovoid, with a blunt wedge-shaped end and a jagged edge in the upper part. Depending on the stonecrop variety, the inflorescences are irregularly branching or in the form of umbrella-like shields.
A distinctive feature of false sedum is the absence of leaves around the inflorescences. The diameter of the flowers is 1.5 cm. Their petals are pink or red, collected in a corolla.
Sedum forms straight, striped, woody fruits 1 mm long, combined in 5 pieces. The seeds are small and numerous.
False sedum varieties
The plant looks decorative even if it does not bloom. It is used not only to decorate the landscape, but also in folk medicine. The most popular are several varieties of stonecrop.
Sedum false Blush
Sedum false "Blush" (Sedum spurium coccineum) refers to perennial plants. During the growing season, its creeping shoots form a very dense cushion of leaves and inflorescences.
The leaves of the sedum "Blush" are obverse-heart-shaped. Their color changes from deep green to a slight shade of red. The inflorescences are purple, in the form of umbrellas.
Sedum false variety "Blush" is undemanding to the composition of the soil, is able to grow on any soil, but it feels especially comfortable on a sandy substrate with a small content of lime.
Sedum false "Blush" blooms for about 2 months, starting in the middle of summer
Sedum false purple
The sedum "Purple" (Sedum spurium purpurea) has another name - sedum-grass. According to legends, the juice of this particular plant lifted the sick Ilya Muromets to his feet, who had been sitting on the stove for 33 years.
A perennial succulent from the Tolstyankov family grows in the form of a small bush, consisting of straight stems covered with dense leaves. Purple umbrellas of inflorescences attract attention due to their splendor and impressive size. The roots of the plant are fibrous, spreading shallowly over the soil surface. Strong stems up to 60 cm in height grow back in spring and die off in winter.
In the wild, purple sedum is found throughout Eurasia, except for the Arctic, is widespread in China and Japan, in the north of America.
False sedum "Purple" has decorative and medicinal properties
Sedum false Crimson
In adulthood, sedum reaches a height of 25 cm. Its dense, creeping shoots are covered with bright green leaves.One plant is capable of spreading 50 cm over the surface of the earth, tightly covering the soil with shoots and inflorescences. The leaf plates of the false "Crimson" sedum (Sedum spurium Purple Carpet) are fleshy, 4 by 6 cm in size.
Flowering lasts about 2 months - from June to August. During this period, pink or crimson inflorescence petals cover all plants so that neither stems nor leaves are visible. Cultivation of false sedum "Raspberry" from seeds is not difficult, because after ripening, in the fall, they have a high germination capacity.
False sedum "Crimson" is used to decorate terraces, gazebos, as accent and background spots in the landscape
Sedum false Voodoo
A dense, low carpet of slightly raised shoots forms a false sedum variety "Voodoo" (Sedum spurium Voodoo). Its stems are only 5 cm long, fleshy, creeping, with adventitious roots.
The variety is common in countries with mild climates, grows on any soil, and even in rocky cracks.
Voodoo roots are creeping, superficial. Leaves are glossy, burgundy, with denticles along the edges. The color of the leaf plates changes gradually - from bright (in spring) to pale (in summer). Voodoo sedum flowers are bisexual, pink-crimson, up to 1.5 cm in diameter.
A succulent plant easily tolerates drought, since it accumulates moisture for future use in leaf plates. It is often used for decorating and landscaping turf roofs.
Sedum false "Voodoo" is hardy, grows well both on the street and at home
Sedum false Tricolor
The false sedum variety got its name for its triple color. The white stripe framing the green leaf plate turns pink in spring and autumn. The height of a perennial in an adult state is 15 cm. Small, succulent leaves densely cover them from top to bottom, forming a thick carpet.
Sedum false "Tricolor" looks good on slides or in containers
The flowers of stonecrop false "Tricolor" (Sedum spurium Tricolor) are pale pink. The more sun there is on the site, the more abundantly the sedum blooms. Sometimes in the general array of foliage, stems appear in a monochromatic - green or purple. Such shoots are advised to be removed in order to maintain the purity of the variety.
Planting and caring for false stonecrop
Sedum is an unpretentious plant. He needs maximum attention only in the first weeks after disembarking to a permanent place. Timely weeding will allow young plants to take root, strengthen and begin growing.
Selection and preparation of the landing site
To preserve the decorative effect and successful vegetation of sedum, it is necessary to carefully choose the place of its planting. It must meet a number of requirements:
- Be well lit.
- Location - away from trees and bushes.
- Free from fallen leaves.
False sedum will not die in the shade without sunlight, but its stems will elongate, the petals will become pale, unattractive, or the flowering will stop altogether. The fallen leaves are removed so that it does not interfere with the growth of the sprouts.
Landing rules
The optimal time for planting sedum in the ground is from May to October. Its transfer to a later date reduces the likelihood of the formation of powerful roots and successful wintering of the plant.
To plant a succulent in the ground, you must:
- Prepare a hole 20 cm deep and 50 cm in diameter.
- Mix humus with sand in a ratio of 1 to 3.
- Fill the prepared planting hole with the mixture.
- Plant the plants.
- Water them.
- Lay the soil around the plants with fine gravel or crushed stone.
Subject to the rules of planting and careful care, sedum is able to grow in one place for at least 5 years.
Watering and feeding
Sedum is able to accumulate moisture in its leaf plates, in the stems. For this reason, it does not need frequent watering. In humid climates, you can do without it at all if the ambient temperature reaches +25 ⁰С. Excess water leads to root rot and plant death.
False sedum planted in fertile soil does not require additional feeding.There are enough nutrients in the soil, otherwise the plant will "get fat", quickly begin to build up green mass, and stop blooming.
Sedum prefers to grow in sunny areas
If the soil is poor, stony, it is fertilized twice a season - a month after planting and immediately before flowering. For this purpose, a special fertilizer for succulents is used, containing a complex of micro- and macroelements.
Reproduction of false sedum
In the wild, stonecrop seeds are widely carried by birds and small rodents. Gardeners propagate succulent in three ways.
Using cuttings
The method is one of the simplest and most reliable. A stalk 15 cm long is cut from the top of the shoot and planted in a previously prepared moist, lightweight substrate with a high sand content. The method is used from May to September.
Seeds
This technique is laborious and is most often used by breeders. The best time for sowing is early spring.
The seeds are spread evenly over the soil surface in boxes or pots. After moistening with a spray bottle, cover with a film and temper at 5 ° C. After 3-4 days, the containers are transferred to a warm place (20 ° C). When seedlings appear, seedlings dive into separate pots.
By dividing the bush
At the beginning of autumn or at the end of spring, an adult mother plant is carefully dug up, the rhizome is divided into several fragments. Each of them should contain full-fledged roots and 2-3 living buds. The cut sites are disinfected, the plants are planted. As soon as new shoots appear, the old ones are cut out.
Diseases and pests of false sedum
A perennial is rarely sick and is rarely damaged by pests, but in adverse weather conditions, insects may appear on some parts of the plant:
- aphid - sucks juice from the leaves, they become sticky, covered with specks;
- thrips - damage the tops of the shoots;
- weevil - destroys young foliage and buds.
For their extermination, both folk methods (treatment with soapy water) and modern drugs (insecticides) are used.
High humidity or excessive watering often leads to the appearance of fungus on the plants. Any shoots on which dark spots are found are immediately cut and disposed of.
Photo of false sedum
Among the wide variety of varieties of stonecrop, several of the most famous can be distinguished.
False sedum "Blush" - a light-loving plant, in the shade it can stretch
Inflorescences of sedum "Purple" are green in spring, later turn pink and at the end of summer acquire a bright, rich color
In autumn, after the end of flowering, the foliage of the plant falls off, the stalks of sedum "Raspberry" are exposed
Sedum "Voodoo" easily tolerates severe frosts, drought and poor nutrition
The sedum colors of the false "Tricolor" are brighter the more sunlight the plant receives.
Conclusion
Having planted false sedum, you can change the landscape design beyond recognition. The succulent plant will become the highlight of the garden, all the elements of which will sparkle in a new way thanks to its unusual appearance, brightness and rapid growth.
