Sedum album var. murale - Stonecrop

Sedum album 'Murale' is a particularly colourful white stonecrop. It is decorative all year round, but particularly sublime in the approach of winter when its foliage turns reddish-purple garnet. It is a ground cover perennial with small, rounded, tightly packed leaves that form a remarkable dense carpet that changes colour throughout the seasons. The carpet colonises the poorest and driest terrains through long stems that easily take root in crevices. A delicate summer flowering in white-pink shades completes this delicate miniature.

Sedum album 'Murale' belongs to the Crassulaceae family and is sometimes wrongly confused with the cultivar 'Coral Carpet', which is slightly less colourful. The classic form S. album, called white stonecrop, grows in poor, shallow, very dry, limestone soils. It is a perennial plant native to Europe (central and southern), Asia Minor (Turkey), and North Africa. 

Sedum album 'Murale' can spread over more than 40cm (16in). Its trailing stems are slightly upright at their tips, reaching a height of barely 5cm (2in). They bear small oblong, fleshy, almost cylindrical leaves. When filled with water, they measure just 3 to 4mm. Alternating, they are arranged in such a way as to resemble small rosettes at the tips of the stems. This foliage displays changing shades. Initially light green, it gradually evolves into coral red, eventually turning very dark red or even violet towards the end of autumn. This colour gradually spreads to all the leaves. These nuances vary, as in most sedums, depending on climatic conditions: the amount of light and the cold will either lighten or intensify its colours. From this carpet stands out a tiny and delicate flowering, between June and August depending on the climate. The inflorescences are miniature corymbs, made up of multiple slightly pinkish star-shaped flowers, which can double the height of this little carpet.

Sedum album 'Murale' is ideal in rocky and poor soil that is arid in summer and almost impossible to vegetate. Perfectly hardy, it only fears the competition of taller plants, which generally prefer more favourable conditions. Its changing colours transform a barren rockery, a bank, the top of a wall, and even a green roof. Sedums are easy-to-care-for succulents, with flowers and foliage in various shades that should be taken advantage of to create colourful palettes, whether in borders, containers or rockeries. However, they should not be subjected to excessive moisture in winter, nor covered with dead leaves (as this can cause them to wither). They prefer a sunny exposure, even scorching, and will thrive in a few millimetres of substrate. Plant it with its cousins S. 'Lemon Ball', S. 'Lydium Glaucum', S. 'Cape Bianco' and S. 'Angelina' to create a multicoloured mosaic.