Plant Pick: Sedum spurium “John Creech”
Looking for a wonderful sedum for your hypertufa or a rock garden?
Sedum spurium “John Creech” is one of my favorite flowering succulents. It blooms with pink flowers in summer (usually about June here in Ohio) and grows a thick ground cover mat which helps to suppress weeds. You can also make new plants easily with cuttings! Score!
This sedum cultivar is named after John Creech, a well-known American horticulturist and plant collector who is credited with introducing many new plant species to the gardening world. The “John Creech” cultivar was first introduced in the 1970s and has since become a popular choice for rock gardens, groundcovers, and containers.
It is sometimes called two-row stonecrop sedum because of the way the petals grow on the stems. It will send out stems which can root at each node. John Creech will grow fast but if you don’t like where it grows, it can just be “lifted up” and moved. It is step-able so it can be use on a path, if necessary.
The blossoms on this sedum are pink and star-shaped. They have five petals which is one of the identifying markers of this plant. Butterflies and bees hover constantly and you can enjoy them during the bloom season. Most succulents and sedum are great for pollinators.
Birds will also enjoy the dried flower’s seed heads if you want to leave them up over winter. Otherwise, you can cut them off and , if you like, trim the plant back to keep your tight ground cover growth habit.
Stats for Sedum spurium “John Creech”:
- Hardiness: Zone 3-9
- Height: less than 5 inches
- Spread: 12 inches or more
- Exposure: Sunny or partial shade
- Drought tolerant, but appreciates some moisture
- Soil: lean but well drained (rich soil will make it less tight)
- Tolerates: Rabbit, Deer, Drought, Erosion, Dry Soil, Shallow-Rocky Soil, Air Pollution
This cultivar can turn a burgundy shade in the cooler months of fall which makes it a very attractive and versatile plant for designing in your rock garden.
I have a lot of this growing around my garden, both on the ground and in containers. It will cascade over the edge of a hypertufa pot beautifully, so I do use it quite a bit. It does make a good ground cover sedum since it grows so tightly. It is tighter in full sun, just a bit looser in semi-shade.
Sedum spurium “John Creech” is a great choice for a variety of garden settings. It can be used as a groundcover to fill in empty spaces between other plants or as a low-growing edging plant. It also works well in rock gardens, where its low height and spreading habit can be used to create a natural-looking groundcover. It can also be grown in containers, where its compact size and attractive foliage make it a great addition to patio or balcony gardens.
I have the Sedum spurium “John Creech” growing in some planters and it seems to be doing really well. Since the spreading nature of the plant causes it to cascade over the sides of a garden planter, it really gives a nice look to some of my draped hypertufa pots.
Try this plant if you don’t already have it. It is very easy to find at the local garden centers or nurseries since it is a very common plant. Or ask a gardener you know. They would probably gladly share a cutting for you to take home. And a cutting means: lifting up a sheet of it and handing it over. It grows like that so easily. What’s not to love?
Sedum spurium “John Creech” is a versatile and easy-to-grow plant that is a great choice for any garden. Its attractive foliage and small, colorful flowers make it a standout in any setting, and its low-maintenance requirements make it an ideal choice for busy gardeners who want a beautiful garden without a lot of work.
It grows nicely in gravel too! Have you seen my garden pathways?