Scientific Name
Sedum dasyphyllum L.
Common Name(s)
Blue Tears Sedum, Corsican Stonecrop, Love and Tangle, Love and Tangles, Thick Leaf Stonecrop, Thick-leaved Stonecrop
Synonym(s)
Leucosedum dasyphyllum, Oreosedum dasyphyllum, Sedum dasyphyllum subsp. dasyphyllum, Sedum granulatum
Scientific Classification
Family: Crassulaceae
Subfamily: Sempervivoideae
Tribe: Sedeae
Genus: Sedum
Etymology
The specific epithet "dasyphyllum (das-ee-FIL-um)" means "having dense, shaggy leaves; dasyphyllous" and refers to the leaves covered with short, soft hairs.
Origin
Sedum dasyphyllum is native to southern, central, and south-eastern Europe and Turkey (Anatolia) and rare in the western Mediterranean Region and North Africa. It usually grows among the rocks at elevations from sea level to 8.200 feet (2,500 m).
Description
Sedum dasyphyllum is a mat-forming succulent with decumbent stems and gray-green leaves often tinged with red. It can grow up to 6 inches (15 cm) tall, including inflorescences. The thick, fleshy leaves are ovate to elliptic or obovate, measuring up to 0.3 inches (0.7 cm) long.
The flowers are small, star-shaped, 5- to 6-merous, white, often with a red keel or pinkish, and appear in few-flowered clusters on short terminal branches in summer.
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zones 3a to 9b: from −40 °F (−40 °C) to 30 °F (−1.1 °C).
How to Grow and Care
When growing Sedums, keep in mind that these plants need very little attention or care. They will thrive in conditions many other plants thrive in but do just as well in less hospitable areas. They are ideal for that part of your yard that gets too much sun or too little water to grow anything else. A common name for Sedum is Stonecrop because many gardeners joke that only stones need less care and live longer.
Sedum is easily planted. For shorter varieties, laying the plant on the ground where you want it to grow is usually enough to start it there. They will send out roots from wherever the stem touches the ground and root itself. If you would like to ensure further that the plant will start there, you can add a very thin covering of soil over the plant.
You can break off one of the stems for taller varieties and push it into the ground where you want to grow it. The stem will root very easily, and a new plant will be established in a season or two.
Learn more at How to Grow and Care for Sedum.
Cultivars
- Sedum dasyphyllum 'Himalayan Skies'
- Sedum dasyphyllum 'Lilac Mound'
- Sedum dasyphyllum 'Major'
- Sedum dasyphyllum 'Minor'
Links
- Back to genus Sedum
- Succupedia: Browse succulents by Scientific Name, Common Name, Genus, Family, USDA Hardiness Zone, Origin, or cacti by Genus
Photo Gallery
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