Sedum Companion Plants

Sedum Basics

• Sedums thrive in full sun to partial shade and prefer fast-draining soil, so should the plants that surround them. Warm, wet soil invites fungal diseases and root rot, so plant sedums in locations with excellent drainage. Pork and beans sedum has small, spherical leaflets on fleshy trailing stems. The plants work well as groundcover, especially in rock gardens. Autumn Joy sedum grows to 2 feet high in mounding clumps. Pink, star-shaped flowers cover the plant in autumn, taking on a copper tone and then a rusty orange tinge as they mature on the plant.

Tall Selections

• Place the taller plants at the back of the border behind stout, low-growing sedums. Mexican bush sage (Salvia leucantha) grows to about 3 feet high and sprawls to the same width. The arching, semiwoody branches twist in and around other plantings, and the silvery, fuzzy leaves stand out against the rubbery, smooth texture of sedums. In late summer, velvety racemes of violet flowers open on long, wavy stems attracting hummingbirds and butterflies. The delicate foliage of Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia) provides another good option as a back-of-the-border planting.

Low Growers

• Front-of-the-border standouts include blue fescue (Festuca glauca), an ornamental clumping grass with light-blue, spiky foliage. The rounded clumps benefit from a yearly shearing in winter. Senecio mandraliscae, another blue plant with upright succulent and rounded branchlets, spreads slowly and reaches 1 foot high. Lantana (Lantana camera) grows low to the ground and spreads aggressively, so keep it in check by occasionally shearing it back. Bright yellow, purple, rose or multicolored flowers speckle the small, leathery foliage during the warmer months. Some people object to the pungent aroma emitted by crushed or bruised foliage when it bruises.

Medium Growers

• Beardtongue's (Penstemon heterophyllis) narrow stems shoot up in spring or fall and coloring a planting bed with purple, pink or scarlet flowers. An herbaceous perennial, beardtongue dies back in late fall and winter, and then reappears next spring. Trailing rosemary (Rosmarinus prostrates) has twisting branches covered with needlelike foliage, and blue flowers that attract bees in cool weather. Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) flavors roast chicken and potatoes. A medium-sized perennial, lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) also fits in well with sedums. It tolerates dry sunny conditions and has soft, green-gray foliage and violet flower wands adding visual appeal. Collect the flowers for fragrant sachets or bouquets.