I think the worst is probably over. I'd avoid using insecticide on the other plants, and give your sedum a chance to recover. My guess is that by the end of August you'll know whether or not the sedum survived.

I wouldn't spray the other stuff, I think the aphids were only interestd in the AJ.... it must be particularly sweet and juicy! I have the same problem with AJ and similar sedums. If you don't do anything (which is how I normally approach these problems) the aphids keep multiplying and the sedums get sickly looking and full of sticky gunk. What has worked for me is spraying the clumps with a direct blast from the water hose to spray the aphids out of the growing tips. It usually gets rid of the problem after the first or second treatment and you're good for the season.
If you are worried about the plant not making it, snap off a few of the extra stems and stick em in the ground. They'll root and next year you'll have a new clump there.... no special treatment needed just snap and stick.... they don't even need to be watered.

I'm glad you both agree not to spray - I didn't really want to. I still see some of those %&@# aphids. But I like the idea of snapping off some stems and starting new plants. I could take them to the sink and really clean off the aphids, dip them in weak soapy water, and stick them into the ground at a different spot.

Then I can leave the parent plants alone and see how they do. If they make it, they will set new buds in the fall. Then I will be super-vigilent next year! Order in lady-bug storm troopers!

if you find they are too far gone and you can't save them for whatever reason, i have plenty to share. just drop me an email.

maryanne

When the aphids start snacking on my sedums, I just let them go till I am ready to pinch them back to control height and therefore the flopping of most of them. When they are about 14 inches tall, (by now the aphid damage is is getting pretty ugly) I pinch, actually cut, them back by about half. This cuts off most of the damage. New growth soon appears on each side of the cut stem. By this time the aphids are about gone (or moved on to other things) and the new growth remains healthy.

I never knew about cutting back sedums, Gazania! I just read about it on a few sites after your comment. But - if I cut them in half, there will be no foliage at all! Would the plant survive to make more branches if there are no leaves? Maybe some selective cutting of the outside stems? I can root the cuttings. Then if the outside stems re-branch, it will hide the bad legs in the center.

(Love the username - found some Gazanias last year and loved them, but I didn't know their name until this month, so I couldn't look for more this year.)

Last night I made an "aphid sprayer" out of an empty organic cleaner bottle. I put a squirt of soap in the water and went to work throughly soaking the top and bottom of every darned leaf. I think the other watering-can treatments didn't cover the undersides of leaves well enough, leaving some aphids alive.

Maryanne, thank you so much for your generous offer. I will keep that in mind if I lose the battle.

--Tracy

There are still some aphids after two more sprayings, but the plants definitely look like they are recovering. The lower stems still look pitiful, but the upper leaves are sprouting and more soots are coming out. I think they might make it!

tracy, it takes a lot to kill them. you can just put a non-affected piece right into the ground and it will grow. i started with one on my property. that was enough. now i have plenty. they are excellent for problem areas (in my opinion). i don't make the stars of the garden.

keep in mind the offer - anytime. just pop me an email or come to the swap caliloo is putting together - i'll dig up some nice clumps for you.

maryanne

I'll concur with Gazania: cutting back around now still leaves enough time for rejuvenation resulting in late summer/fall bloom. I had a fungus-attack on mine last summer and lopped them down to the ground in early July. By August,they were small, but popped out some gorgeous flowers over the next few weeks. This year I'm trying really hard not to get the leaves wet and hopefully that's helped.

The aphid attack seems to be over, and the plants are slightly spindly but setting flower buds. I just bought some root hormone and plan to start some cuttings when the heat wave is over.

I wonder if the aphids left because of my soapy water treatment or because their natural cycle died down. Next year I will watch more closely and battle them as soon as they appear, to see if I can knock them down faster.

I appreciate all the advice. I'm trying to stop being afraid to cut things back.

--Tracy