Perhaps a small plant with a funny name stonecrop does not conquer the first time with its beauty, but its modest charm will emphasize the sophistication of an alpine hill or refresh the strict elegance of an autumn flower garden. The second name of the stonecrop is sedum. Landing and caring for this unpretentious creature will not cause you any insurmountable difficulties.
For the garden, those varieties are selected that easily tolerate winter cold. In nature, these plants often grow in harsh northern conditions, so they cope quite well with wintering. Some do not even bother dropping leaves, so go green under the snow.
It is the dense, fleshy leaves that are the hallmark of the entire line of stonecrops. Their color is varied. The most common is the traditional green sedum. Photo copies of burgundy color with a brown border captivate with its bright decorativeness. Often on the surface of the plant there is a slight silver coating. A stonecrop covered with small white, pink or yellow inflorescences looks touching.
If you are going to settle in a sedum, landing of which is unlikely to take a lot of time and energy, take care to choose the right place. Despite its famous unpretentiousness, this baby loves the sun. In the shade, its leaves turn pale, the plant becomes frail and weak.
There are no special claims to the soil, if it is fertile - great, but if not, then the sedum will adapt to it. Landing and caring for stony alpine slides is another confirmation of this. The plant is able to gain a foothold in any gap where it finds a little land for itself. However, do not regret it and add a little humus and compost to the soil before planting the stonecrop.
To get a chic carpet of beautiful creeping plants, you need to contribute to their reproduction. You can just sow the seeds, but it is much easier to cuttings. Cuttings quickly take root in a box of wet sand and within two weeks two are ready for planting in the soil.
Another way to grow sedum, planting and caring for which is postponed until next spring, is to cut a flowering branch in October (before the frost hit). The escape is brought home and placed in a vase of water. Do not forget to change the fluid. In December, you will see tiny babies appear from the sinuses of almost every leaflet. They will have their own little roots and thin stems. They will need to be carefully separated from the mother’s shoot and placed in their own dishes. Then the children will grow up to join their brothers in the spring in the spring.
The capricious nature of the stonecrops never possessed. Accustomed to growing on dry and rocky soil, therefore, frequent watering from gardeners do not require. Do not overfeed sedum. Planting and care include top dressing with manure or nitrogen, but do not introduce extra fertilizers, otherwise an out-of-plant plant will overwinter poorly. For winter, stems of stonecrop, which still continue to bloom, it is advisable to prune. Mulch the leaves from the leaves with compost. And, of course, we make sure that weeds do not interfere with our little friend.