Oh, I meant to ask....it really looks like if I dig it out and pot it, I'd love to just cut all the foliage off and leave the base. That is the issue for me. I'm sure there's no problem just potting it up but the stems are so long and messy. I can leave them if I have to, but is it the wrong thing to do to cut all the stems off? There are some plants you can do that to. Cranesbill for one. Columbine for another... Sedum though? And I guess timing is part of it.

In my zone I have not had any issue dividing or transplanting sedum in the fall. After the move, I water well and I may trim some of the leafy taller top growth. I don’t trim the stems in early fall to the ground as it needs time to grow and re-establish roots before winter.

Your sedum’s foliage is gorgeous! I too would try tip pruning it back during the early growing season to promote bushiness and limit height even at the expense of fall flowers.

Thank you DFan - That sounds right to me. I am planning on adding a Mum where that is in my bed today, so I don't have a place for it yet, but I will defnitely pot it up and leave all the foliage alone until the plant goes dormant. I can put it out of the way in the shade somewhere so I don't have to look at it. [g]

I do love the foliage and I've divided it from one plant to three and have also given a division away. I hope tip pruning it will keep the foliage the same all season and that it stays a compact plant and doean't open up. That would be ideal. Thanks!

I can't speak to how it should perform in MA but in my area, upright sedums/hylotelephiums can be handled with a fair amount of abuse without concern. They are very hardy, tough, drought tolerant and adaptable, requiring only sun and a well drained, preferably lean soil.

I would have no issues moving it now, nor would I have any issues cutting it back hard.

Flopping of upright sedums is generally due to an overly enriched soil. The leaner the better, as long as it drains well. Cutting or pinching back earlier in the season - the Chelsea Chop - can help with leggy plants although providing more desirable soil conditions and less irrigation works better IMO. btw, this early cutting back will not adversely impact flowering. Rather, it is more likely to produce heavier flowering resulting from more growing tips.

pm that is a beauty! I have "Purple Emperor" that is similar in foliage and that it flops as it flowers. I have it in fairly lean soil yet it still flops. The foliage is worth it. I may try tip pruning early season.

You are a much warmer zone than me so perhaps you could get away with cutting it back. If I did it would promote tender new growth going into late fall/winter. Not good.

It’s gorgeous. If you decide to cut it back, try rooting the cuttings. Whenever I cut stems of tall sedum for my bouquets, they always root in the vase water really quickly!

eta: my sister lives in SE Mass z6 and I think she’d be fine moving a sedum now.

Here it is in it's pot...such a difference from what it looks like in the summer. And the stems are so long. I think I will wait a little bit and cut it back and yes, root some of the stems. I love anything that will root in a glass of water. [g] And great to have the experience of someone in my area. Thank you party music.

Peren.all - I love the upright sedums. I haven't been able to make the creeping sedums work for me, but Autumn Joy and Purple Emperor, I have both and love them. AJ is such a reliable satisfying plant to grow. It looks good all season and is interesting at every stage of development. My only complaint, is that I wish it stayed that rosy pink color in the fall and didn't turn rust. I like Purple Emperor too, and yes, it flops the same. I was actually going to get rid of PE but I think I will give it another chance and tip prune it the same as BP and hope they both impress.

GGal, I had forgotten until you brought it up how indestructible Sedums are. I left one out of the pot, on top of a compost pile all winte adn it was still living in the spring. lol Mine are in full sun. AJ doesn't usually flop until it's needing division, but..the two dark leaved varieties both do. And I don't think there is anything I can do about the soil. I have clay soil and without amending I guess it is pretty rich. I'll be careful not to add fertilizer near it, since I have it in a very mixed bed.

Thanks!

To root sedum cuttings, I poke a hole in garden soil, stick the cutting in the hole, water and forget. Most of the cuttings make it.

can garden soil be made “leaner” in an area of a mixed perennial bed where sedums are flopping.?

An additional challenge is the lessening/changing sunlight in September. Sedum Matrona is upright in 6 hours of bright sun untll Septmber then develops a distinct bend towards the west and longer stems as it follows the sun.

i thought this problem echoed PMs; hijacking unintended.

Yes soil can be made leaner, (more drainable) in a small section of a perennial bed. Sedum and Hylotelephium will grow in gravel and sand. Black dirt whether rich or poor wont provide the excelent drainage that they need, and it can cause flopping.

Marie, that's true, the angle of the sun in the Fall, dramatically changes the amount of sun the plants in my full sun bed receive. This week there have been hours of shade in 3/4 of my full sun bed and that includes where my sedums are.

I do have my sedums planted on an incline and there is a layer of gravel about 6 inches below the soil. But...I should try an experiement and try using more for one of the sedum and see if it makes a differnce. Thanks for the idea.

Hi PM!

GG sedum is the same here as on the West Coast. tough. Rot is the enemy. So how do gardeners with high rainfall grow them? i cant imagine gardeners on the Puget Sound and Seattle dont grow Autum Joy, Fire , Matrona or Emperor and many others. Even though i asked question I find myself very hesitant to add gravel to an area of my perennial bed. .

The gravel will migrate and suppose I later decide to plant something else in the area where I put the gravel. ? I know the soil is too rich- we added a lot of compost when we redid it 5 years ago.

i have to laugh at myself-I sound just like one of those new post-ers who asks for help then rejects every suggestion. i dont want to be that person!

How does it work to add amendment to decrease fertility and increase drainage to just one area of a perennial bed ? its not a long border, It is a large bed between a 2 paths and a patio so im always challenged by creating relationships and transitions between groups of perennials.

Thinking aloud here: could one use larger rocks, partially cover with dirt

( this is New England, theres plenty of those ) and create planting pocketsi?

I am embarrassed by my failure of imagination.

PM- our gardens sound identical in their challenges. Not surprising in that we live only miles apart.

marie😒

Could you plant your sedum in a pot of gravelly sandy soil and sink the pot into your nice planting bed?

that is certainly possible… ithe planting area is about 4x5 and theres 10-12 skinny Matrona. in the right soil i have no doubt they would look much better. Good idea. Thanks

Marie, not surprising at all since we are in the same area. I always want to grow the plants that need good drainage....the salvias in particular. So I use the edge of my front bed that has a slight incline and the last foot and a half of the bed to the street has a lot of gravel under the soil.

It just occurred to me, maybe the drainage is too good....since my Mums are always drying out and the lower leaves yellow. Drives me crazy and I'm always picking off the yellow leaves. The bed gets watered well enough I always think, but...maybe not. Next year...better watering and more mulching.

But how does my Mum dry out from good drainage in full sun, but still flop from too rich soil...lol.

Three variables is getting a bit much to process. And threes just the beginning..

i learned that mums need ample water when they set buds and after. In previous years they looked like you describe yours to be so i increased deep watering to weekly and fed them twice- this is significant intervention by my standards . They are covered with buds but a little floppy.

i think you may be onto something about the soil’s water retention.Isn't it much hotter near the street, which i assume is black asphalt? Is there a sidewalk inbetween?

So, do you have new ideas about your floppy sedum?

Yes, it's asphalt and no sidewalk. I was thinking that today, that I will fertilize the Mums more next year.

The idea I want to try for the flopping sedums is to cut them back....tip prune them and keep them compact and do it often enough that they stay lower to the ground and maybe not even flower. I hope to retain that lovely dark foliage all season without flopping.