How to Grow and Care for Sedum Spurium (Two-Row Stonecrop)

Whether you're looking for a splash of creeping color for your rock garden design or cottage garden wall, a pollinator-friendly mat-forming ground cover, or a sunny container addition, low-maintenance succulent Sedum spurium is sure to fit the bill. 

The clusters of small, star-shaped flowers provide an eruption of color mid-summer, and the changing shades of the leaves provide textural interest for the rest of the year.

Pop this drought-tolerant plant in well-draining soil in a sunny spot and watch it thrive. 

Sedum spurium is mildly toxic to people and pets. While this isn’t a high-risk plant, you might not want to cover your yard in the plant if you have a dog that likes to nibble on garden greenery.

Sedum Spurium Care

Here are the main care requirements for growing adaptable sedum spurium:

• Place in full sun where possible, but can tolerate partial shade (especially in very hot southern regions).
• Plant in well-draining soil. 
• Space 6 to 12 inches apart when planting.
• Provide water using the ‘soak and dry’ method during drought or intense heat.

Light

Sedum spurium is a great ground cover for full sun yards. These plants can also tolerate partial shade, but you might not see such impressive blooms or rapid growth.

The exception is if you live in a sweltering southern state. Here, partial shade to provide respite from leaf-scorching afternoon sun is beneficial.

Soil

A big benefit of sedum spurium is its tolerance of poor soils. Provided you plant it somewhere with good drainage, it should thrive.

Rocky, sandy soils are ideal, which is why these plants are so popular for rock or gravel gardens. However, they easily tolerate most thin, dry, infertile soils in highly stressed sites of varying pH levels.

The exception is compacted or clay soil—the bad drainage leads to standing water and root rot.

Water

Sedum spurium is a drought-tolerant species once established. Like all succulents, it stores water in its fleshy foliage. Overwatering is probably this plant's most common killer, rapidly leading to root rot. 

Generally, you only need to offer supplemental irrigation when there’s a drought or it's particularly hot, and the amount of rainfall isn’t enough to fully hydrate the plant.

Watering a little more regularly during the first year of growth (around once every week to fortnight) is helpful for healthy root establishment.

The ‘soak and dry’ method is effective. Let the soil dry out fully before offering a deep watering, where you fully soak the soil without leaving it soggy. 

Temperature and Humidity

Despite being a sun-lover, sedum spurium is a surprisingly cold-tolerant semi-evergreen species. These plants can handle freezing temperatures, and the foliage begins to change color when the winter weather arrives.

In warmer regions, these plants are evergreen. However, sedum spurium isn’t a fan of humid, excessively wet weather.

Fertilizer

Hardy sedum spurium doesn’t typically need fertilizing. Very fertile soil can result in leggy, fragile growth. When soils are very poor, mixing some organic matter (such as compost) into the soil can help encourage abundant blooms.

Types of Sedum Spurium

There’s a wide variety of sedum spurium cultivars to choose from. Some popular options include:

• Sedum spurium ‘Dragon’s Blood’: This popular cultivar has mauve or dark pink flowers and bronze-tinged foliage that turns burgundy in the winter.
• Sedum spurium ‘John Creech’: A striking and fast-growing cultivar with red-edged foliage and red-pink mid-summer flowers. During fall, the foliage turns a deep burgundy.
• Sedum spurium ‘Tricolor’: This variegated cultivar, also known as ‘Variegatum’, features foliage with white edges tinged with pink and light pink flowers.  

Pruning

Low-maintenance, low-growing sedum spurium doesn’t need much in the way of pruning. After flowering, you might want to trim it back to retain a neat shape and prevent it from outgrowing the intended space.

Propagating Sedum Spurium

It’s easy to propagate Sedum spurium by division or by cuttings in spring or early summer. Follow the steps below to propagate by stem cuttings:

1. Take a 3 to 4-inch cutting from a healthy stem using sharp, sterile pruning shears or scissors.
2. Remove the bottom leaves, keeping a couple at the top of the stem. 
3. Fill round the leafless stem base with a well-draining potting mix, ensuring the nodes at the bottom are covered.
4. Keep the potting mix evenly moist (but not soggy) while awaiting the cutting to take root.
5. Wait for signs of new growth (this can take two weeks to a month). Once the cutting shows resistance at a gentle tug, it has rooted.
6. Move the cutting to its permanent location.

How to Get Sedum Spurium to Bloom

Learn more about the sweet, star-shaped blooms of the Sedum spurium to allow you to make the most of them.

Bloom Months

Sedum spurium typically starts blooming mid-summer and remains in flower for two to four weeks. However, depending on regional conditions, some cultivars can flower in late spring, and others put on a colorful display in early fall. Young plants don’t usually flower in their first year or two.

What Do Sedum Spurium Flowers Look and Smell Like?

You’re not growing sedum spurium for its fragrance, as the flowers don’t have much of a smell. However, the clusters of pretty, small, star-shaped blooms more than makeup for that.

The five-petaled flowers come in various colors, including pink, purple, burgundy, white, yellow, orange, and red.

How to Encourage More Blooms

Adaptable sedum spurium produces abundant blooms with minimal effort. The key to encouraging abundant blooms is to position the plants in a sufficiently sunny spot and avoid overwatering.

Too much shade majorly impacts growth and flower development. 

Dividing these fast-spreading plants every three to four years also encourages new growth and better blooming.

Common Pests and Plant Diseases

Sedum spurium is a hardy species that isn’t plagued with major pest or disease problems. However, watch out for slugs, snails, and scale. They all love to suck on the fleshy leaves and stems.

Diatomaceous earth is a natural way to control slugs and snails, and you can get rid of scale insects with neem oil or insecticidal soaps. Overwatering and poor drainage can lead to crown rot.

Common Problems with Sedum Spurium

Prevent your sedum spurium from prematurely perishing by watching out for these warning signs that you need to tweak its care.

Leggy Growth

Weak, floppy, leggy stems on your sedum spurium often suggest your plant isn’t receiving enough sun. This results in the plant stretching to reach the available light (etiolation). It could also be down to overly fertile soil.

Squishy Foliage

Overwatering quickly leads to root rot in sedum spurium. A sign that things are overly moist is foliage and stems that go from plump and firm to squishy and soft. The leaves often fall off when they get mushy.

Discolored Stems and Foliage

If your plant’s leaves are turning yellow, this is another common early indicator your sedum spurium is receiving too much water. It can also be a sign your plant needs more sunlight.

Assess your plant’s position, the soil’s drainage, and your watering schedule. Remember this plant doesn’t like wet feet, and you should let the soil dry out fully between waterings.