Sedum 'Strawberries and Cream'
ice plant
- Position: full sun
- Soil: moderately fertile, well-drained, neutral to slightly alkaline soil
- Rate of growth: average to fast-growing
- Flowering period: August to September
- Flower colour: bi-coloured, rose and cream
- Other features: attractive to butterflies and bees
- Hardiness: fully hardy
Two-tone rose and cream flowers appear in flattened clusters from midsummer to autumn over clumps of purplish foliage. Succulent-leaved stonecrops are easy to grow and provide long-lasting, late colour in hot, sunny spots with well-drained soils at the front of the border. They also look quite effective when potted up and placed in a prominent spot on the patio. - Garden care: The flowerheads look great left during the winter to add shape and texture to your border. In February and March cut back the old flowerheads and apply a generous 5-7cm (2-3in) mulch of well-rotted garden compost or manure around the base of the plant. Once established, sedums can have a tendency to flop leaving an open and unsightly centre, especially in fertile soil. One technique to help prevent this is the 'Chelsea chop'. During the last week of May (Chelsea Flower Show week), cut one in every three stems back to the ground. This will produce plants that are less lush and flower slightly later.
- Eventual Height: 0.5m
- Eventual Spread: 0.5m