Sedum kamtschaticum Weihenstephaner Gold - Stonecrop

Sedum kamtschaticum var. floriferum 'Weihenstephaner Gold' is a sought-after yellow stonecrop known for its long and vibrant summer flowering, as well as its colourful autumn foliage in dark red. This small succulent perennial plant offers a fabulous spectacle from spring to winter. Throughout summer, its foliage is covered with golden yellow flowers with red calyx, giving a coppery colour to the flowering. The flowers are attractive to bees, butterflies, and other pollinating insects. This stonecrop makes an excellent ground cover, capable of adapting to the most difficult places in the sun. In the garden, it will find its place alongside other sedums to create colourful carpets or green roofs.

Sedum kamtschaticum var. floriferum 'Weihenstephaner Gold', commonly known as Russian stonecrop or yellow stonecrop, belongs to the Crassulaceae family. It is a robust perennial, originating from Kamchatka, a volcanic peninsula located in the Far East, where natural conditions are indeed harsh: volcanic soil, providing little substrate for plants, and quite extreme temperatures in summer and winter. The kamtschaticum species takes the form of a small flat cushion, 12cm (5in) tall and 40cm (16in) wide, with creeping, loose stems that stand upright at the end. They bear small, oblong, leathery, thick and succulent leaves, with unevenly toothed tips. Initially light green, the foliage gradually evolves to coral red, eventually becoming very dark purple towards the end of autumn and in winter. This colour gradually spreads to all the leaves. These shades vary, as with most sedums, depending on climatic conditions: the amount of light and the cold will either lighten or intensify its colours. Throughout summer, the flowering is particularly abundant and delicate. It consists of golden yellow star-shaped flowers, with reddish-orange calyx, giving coppery reflections to the entire carpet.

'Weihenstephaner Gold' will thrive in rocky, poor, arid, and even limestone soils. It is a hardy perennial capable of withstanding temperatures below -15°C (5°F) that requires no maintenance and promises to enliven the garden with visits from butterflies. Succulent and cactus plants are easy to care for and have flowers and foliage in various shades that should be enjoyed to enhance rockeries, banks, wall crevices, containers, and green roofs, etc. However, they should not be subjected to excess moisture in winter or covered with dead leaves, as this could cause them to wither. They prefer a sunny, even scorching, exposure and will thrive in just a few millimetres of substrate. Create a beautiful mosaic in the rockery by planting it with delosperma, sempervivums, and crassulas, for example.