Looking for a great perennial for your fall garden? Search no more: ‘Autumn Joy’ sedum just may be what you’re looking for. Also known as Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’, this is one plant that keeps on giving year-round!
‘Autumn Joy’ sedum emerges in early spring, offering a bright, fresh green color to your garden.
Photo Credit: Jennifer Manning
In midsummer, when the flower heads resemble broccoli, ‘Autumn Joy’ looks great in a mixed border with grasses and black-eyed Susans.
Photo Credit: Jennifer Manning
The flower color of ‘Autumn Joy’ first appears in late August, and it takes on a bronzey hue by fall.
Photo Credit: Jennifer Manning
While ‘Autumn Joy’ really shines in all its glory come fall, it has wonderful attributes throughout the year. Springtime brings the emergence of sedum’s thick, succulent, green leaves. Then you start to notice the plant more come midsummer (typically in July), when its flower heads start to form. (They look a bit like broccoli heads.)
But it’s in late summer and early fall when the show really starts – the flower heads begin to color. They start out pink and slowly darken to red – and that’s when the butterflies start to sit up and take notice. By late fall, the flowers turn almost bronze – but don’t cut them back yet! That lasting bronzy color and thick leaf texture is a great addition to the winter landscape!
‘Autumn Joy’ is a great size for most gardens: 2-3 feet tall and about 2 feet wide, which means it’s big enough to make an impact, but small enough to still be a tidy garden presence. Like all sedums, it’s a succulent, meaning it stores water in its leaves. This makes the plant very drought-tolerant once it’s established. Be sure to site yours in full sun with good drainage where the soil isn’t constantly wet. Consider adding this perennial to your borders or containers, too – either alone or with other interesting sedums and succulents.
Because sedums are a clumping perennial, they’ll get bigger every year. What does that mean for you? Well, clumping perennials grow to the outside of the clump, so eventually the center may not grow back. By the time the center is bare, the plant will be begging for some attention. That means it’s time to divide your sedum. Not only will you promote vigorous flowering and stem strength by dividing your plants, you’ll boost the number of plants in your garden without any extra costs – or have extras to share with friends.
So whether you’re looking to add a drought-tolerant plant to a perennial bed or you simply want something that’ll color your garden all year through with a special “show” in fall, ‘Autumn Joy’ sedum is the perennial for you. Under the right conditions, this plant should thrive – and truly live up to its name!
