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Click the Play arrow to hear Paul Parent and David Wilson as they discussed
Sedum "Autumn Charm" on the
The Paul Parent Garden Club radio show (March 4, 2007).
[11:38 minutes -
We apologize for the 2-second audio feedback 7:12 minutes into the broadcast.]
This stunning stonecrop is a variegated form of the incomparable Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’. It is an exciting find that adds beautifully patterned foliage to all the outstanding qualities of its parent, extending the display from late spring all the way through to winter.
Click on the picture, or text link below the picture, for larger view
This recent addition to our Garden Splendor® line up takes the reliability, popularity, and trusted pedigree of ‘Autumn Joy’ and enhances its attraction to make a thrilling new variety that fits in perfectly with our mantra: The best of the “tried and true” and the most promising of the exciting and new.
It's is our pleasure to introduce this variety that has performed well in our trials and shows a lot of promise. We hope it will bring lots of "joy" and "charm" into your life.
Here are some of the attributes that make it so special:
The greenish-blue leaves are edged with a creamy yellow margin that becomes almost white as the season progresses. Its distinctive, crisp, and colorful variegation holds well through the entire growing season and brings a striking tri-season addition of color to the garden scene. Variegated sedums are notoriously prone to reversion (green shoots suddenly appearing); however, our trials so far have shown it to be the most stable selection we have ever grown.
The rounded, semi-domed, flower heads start out in mid-summer as tightly packed, milky-white buds. They turn through cream to light pink, and by late summer each head opens as many tiny, deep pink florets. As summer turns to autumn, they pass through deeper shades of salmon-pink to burgundy, and eventually, as the season rolls into the early stages of winter, they take on shades of mahogany and rich chocolate hues of brown and cocoa. Even in winter, the attraction isn't finished, for the strong, sturdy stems and russet colored flower heads persist and look pretty glistening in the winter sunlight, looking especially eye-catching protruding out of early falls of light snow.
The long lasting flowers are wonderful for cutting; they last well in water. The contrast of the colored heads and variegated foliage looks just as good in a vase as it does out in the garden.
The nectar rich flowers lure butterflies from all over the neighborhood. Later on, when they fade and seeds ripen, another round of activity begins when small birds come to feast on the flower heads.
Hardiness Zone: USDA 3
Proven hardy to Zone 3 and above, this is a resilient, cold hardy perennial that is hardy throughout our northeast region.
Height: 12-18" by about the same wide.
Like most variegated plants, it is a bit slower and smaller growing than its all green relative.
Light: Full Sun
The thick, fleshy, succulent-like foliage is well suited to cope with summer temperatures and short periods of drought. With new plants, just follow the planting instructions on the tags, water regularly until established, put down a good moisture retaining and weed suppressing mulch, and you will find they will settle in and respond well with minimal attention. Obviously, the better the growing conditions, the more lavish the growth and performance will be. If dry periods persist, an occasional deep watering will help to keep them lush.
Like its famous parent, 'Autumn Joy', it's a cinch to grow and maintain. Sedum 'Autumn Charm'™ is a tough, easy grower that only needs ordinary, well-drained soil to flourish. About the only condition it doesn't like is wet, stodgy places where the roots are saturated. Just make sure the soil is free draining and good results will follow. It doesn't need rich, overly nutritious conditions either; this can produce rank growth that is weak and cause the stems to flop over and break from the center.
To promote sturdy, bushy growth and more flower stems, I recommend trimming back the growth by half in early summer - when the shoots are about 8-10 inches. The clumps will quickly replenish and produce lots of fresh new growth that will be extra colorful and lead to more flowers. There is also no harm in tidying up the clumps occasionally by trimming them more frequently. You will delay the flowering by a week or so, but on the plus side, you will get extra bushy growth, more foliage color, and intensify all its "charm".
Sedum 'Autumn Charm'™ is perfect for mixed borders, raised beds, sloping banks, and sunny perennial areas. Its strong, colorful presence makes it a terrific specimen and focal plant. It is a great "hinge" plant, fabulous for emphasizing corners or axis points. It works well in either formal or informal situations and is marvelous for placing at the end of long, narrow pathways or drawing the eye to distant vistas and vignettes. It is particularly useful for placing in beds that are viewed from windows, doorways, and seating areas; it's quite amazing how the bright variegation stands out to lift the scheme and beckon attention.
Imagine the effect of it massed in bold groupings; the combined effect of the striking foliage and rounded shapes is truly terrific! It is stunning rising up out of drifts of low spreading ground cover, and I find that the harmonious coloring complements and blends easily with other planting.
The bushy habit and general robustness make it a natural for any place where low maintenance, high impact, and easy color are needed. It is a great choice for holiday and retirement homes, and is terrific in beds near paved areas like patios, living, and entertainment spaces. Since it copes so well with fluctuating weather temperatures, heat from buildings and hard surfaces, and wind, it is a good choice for inner city and town gardens, too. It is invaluable for use in balcony or terraced gardens, and, if you are thinking of planting a trendy green roof garden, this is definitely the plant for it. The high color, coupled with its hardy nature, long lasting display, and ease of maintenance, makes it a wonderful selection for container planting of all sorts. Whether it's larger planters or more modest efforts, it is sure to be very attractive and effective. Even a single plant simply popped into a decorative pot will create lots of quick, easy color.
Like many good garden plants, Sedum "Autumn Charm"™ was discovered by sheer chance. Brent Horvath, owner of Intrinsic Perennial Gardens, Inc. (Hebron, Illinois) happened to be visiting Perennial Plant Pros, a nearby nursery, in the spring of 1997 when he noticed a variegated sport on a batch of Sedum "Autumn Joy" (aka 'Herbstfreude'). Most folk would have probably overlooked the curiosity, but the keen eye of this seasoned professional detected the unusual looking chimera, and he decided to examine it and take a closer look.
Brent says, “It didn't look like that much at first”. It was early spring, the growth wasn't very far advanced, and the variegation was hardly discernable among the young, silvery-green leaves of this widely grown and highly regarded perennial. But, he thought enough of it to ask the then co-owner of the nursery, Diane, if they wanted to propagate it. She replied "no" and told him that if he wished "he could have it". He bought the plant, and planted it out in a garden area near his nursery.
Brent watched his new find grow and develop, wanting to make sure that it was vigorous enough to be a good performer, and that the variegation was stable and not prone to reversion.
Satisfied that it merited further development, he began to propagate it and occasionally show it to visiting horticultural friends and salespeople from other nurseries. One of the first to be treated to its early review was a sales representative from Darwin Plants in Holland. A few plants eventually made their way to their trial grounds in the Netherlands, and, after a period of scrutiny and testing, they decided to put this exciting new form into commercial production.
Brent filed for a plant patent in 2001, naming it Sedum 'Lajos' (pronounced "Lai'-osh), a trade name that honors his late father, Lajos Geza Horvath. Lajos is a worthy name for it commemorates a hard working, highly respected, and much loved Hungarian American who escaped from his native country after the uprising and revolution in 1956. He made his way to the US in 1959 and eventually founded a landscaping business, the nursery, and other horticultural businesses. Over the years, Lajos brought untold pleasure and joy to countless customers and friends. He loved growing and teaching people about perennials. While it is fitting that this fine variety bears his father's name, Brent also knew that it would be hard for gardeners to pronounce, so he set about finding an alternative name for his star plant.
He wanted to have something that had the word “Autumn” in it, maintaining the connection to its outstanding parent ‘Autumn Joy’. When a friend suggested “Autumn Charm” during a trip they were making to Egypt, he knew immediately that this was the name that should be registered.
Sedum 'Autumn Charm'™ (‘Lajos’) is a variety worth seeking out; it pays tribute to someone who loved his plants, and it is a plant that inherits all the qualities of its illustrious parent while adding to them for an exceptionally long period of display.
It is an exciting new perennial with tremendous promise and oodles of appeal. Stop in soon, and see why it's fun and very rewarding to make your garden glow with Sedum 'Autumn Charm'™.
Until next time, remember.... Enjoy your gardening. It's good for you!
