Sedum spurium Voodoo - Stonecrop

Sedum spurium 'Voodoo' is a variety of false stonecrop that stands out with vegetation filled with red tones, from the foliage to the flowers. Growing as a low-lying carpet, this perennial embraces the contours it covers with a divinely coloured cloak. Its long stems easily take root in all the crevices and colonise rocky areas as well as shallow, dry soils. It prefers full sun. Its long summer flowering of pink-red blooms is animated by the incessant flight of butterflies.

Sedum spurium (synonym Phedimus spurius) 'Voodoo' belongs to the Crassulaceae family. Its ancestor, called false stonecrop, is widespread in rocky scree slopes of the central and western mountains of Europe. 'Voodoo' is a semi-stoloniferous ground-covering plant, 10cm (4in) tall, that can reach a spread of 50cm (20in). Its long stems bear small oval and spatulate leaves, which are somewhat leathery and sometimes bear toothed margins. This foliage persists in winter, depending on conditions. It is tinted dark red to brick-red depending on the season, on a purplish green background. In autumn, the cold turns the leaves a particularly dark shade. Its flowering, which takes place in July-August, is charming and delicate. Its miniature corymb inflorescences are made up of multiple star-shaped pink-red flowers, highly prized by insects that constantly visit them.

Sedums are proof that poor soil can provide a home to beautiful specimens with generous flowering. If your soil is not rich, rather dry, even rocky, or even slightly chalky, you can still benefit from hardy perennials (they withstand temperatures below -15°C (5°F)), which require no maintenance and promise to enliven the garden with visits from butterflies. These succulents are easy to grow and have flowers and foliage in various shades that can create multiple palettes, whether in flower beds or containers. However, you can still grow them in rich, moist, and heavy substrate. They will acclimatise without any problems if you take care to add gravel. They should not be subjected to excess moisture in winter or be covered with dead leaves, as this may cause them to wither.

'Voodoo' is valuable for adding colour to all sunny corners. Plant it along pathways, at the edge of a patio, in raised beds, in rockeries, at the base of a wall, or in pots that you can move as you please. It combines easily with all rockery plants, especially dwarf mugworts and white or grey foliage. The plant requires no monitoring and colonises abandoned spaces. It is suitable for establishing itself on green roofs. In flower beds, it forms a colourful foreground that draws the eye to its neighbours or can be placed under bushes (exposed to the south) to fill poor soils.