Re: Sedum "Autumn Joy"
RTMCVEY@aol.com wrote:
>
> I had this plant in my garden in London, and liked it so much that I took a
> piece of it when I moved to Tuscany. It survives the heat and drought very
> well, but the flowers are now a wishy-washy pink, and the flowerheads, while
> numerous, are not particularly large and lack style. It's the same plant,
> so not an inferior substitute; but the strong sunlight, the change in
> climate, or possibly the change of soil (London clay to Tuscan clay) must
> affect it somehow.
Ruth.
I have two clumps (originally one plant) of this variety in my NZ
garden. One is in full sun on the top of a dry bank and one is in rich
soil and partial shade. In this area we seldom get summer temps over
24-25C, but a great deal of sunshine and especially high UV radiation.
However, my two clumps come out an identical deep bricky pink colour,
though the plants and flowerheads on the sunny bank are no more than
half the size of their pampered brothers. It seems as though the colour
change in yours could be either due to soil differences or high summer
heat, but the smaller size is probably simply caused by drier growing
conditions.
> For late summer/autumn colour I'd suggest planting bulbs of sternbergia
> lutea. They have brilliant yellow crocus-like flowers in September, require
> no care except thinning when they're overcrowded (often, since they multiply
> like mad), no summer water, will grow through tough grass and--unlike real
> crocus--are unattractive to chickens, rabbits etc. The only thing they seem
> to require is lots of sunshine.
I agree these are lovely and so much easier than true crocuses. They
also flower over a surprisingly long period, producing a succession of
flowers from each bulb. However I can testify how much they depend on
sunshine for flowering. Any in my garden which have become shaded by
adjacent growth have from then on sulked and produced leaves only.
Moira
--
Tony & Moira Ryan <theryans@xtra.co.nz>
Wainuiomata,
New Zealand (astride the "Ring of Fire" in the SW Pacific).
