Sedum "Autumn Joy" For Four Season Interest

Sedum “Autumn Joy” is one of the stalwarts of the fall season, but this attractive plant provides interest for all four seasons of the year. The article quoted below takes you through the seasons starting with emergence in spring through steady development in summer and finally full bloom in fall. There are even interesting shapes and textures to see in winter. This article by Jill Spencer which I found on the Dengarden website fills in the details.

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It’s no garden diva.
Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’
Spring

It’s no garden diva.

In spring, Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ greens up, producing silvery foliage that eventually reaches heights of up to two feet. Pictured: Autumn Joy planted near a potted miniature rose bush.
Source: The Dirt Farmer

Live Forever sedum grows tall by mid-summer, producing immature flower heads that bloom in autumn.
Source: The Dirt Farmer

Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’

Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ is the scientific name for the silvery perennial known colloquially as Live Forever.
Although popular, Autumn Joy is no garden diva.
It isn’t showy.
It isn’t fussy.
It has character?and a subtle beauty every season of the year.

Spring

A shot of Autumn Joy in late spring.
Source: The Dirt Farmer

In late spring, Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ produces large flower heads with tight, light-green buds.
Source: The Dirt Farmer

In spring, Autumn Joy “greens up,” sprouting thick, silvery foliage that feels firm and rubbery to the touch.
Here in Southern Maryland, the Autumn Joy in our flowerbeds grows to about five inches by mid-April. At this time, I divide it, giving away some clumps and transplanting some.
Slowly, as spring turns into summer, Autumn Joy’s thick stalks grow taller, reaching up to two feet in height by July.
At their tips, flower heads form. Eventually the heads, which are comprised of small buds, widen and thicken.
On some of our larger Autumn Joy sedum plants, the heads grow up to four inches in diameter, with densely packed buds.
At first these buds are nondescript?small, light green and tight.