Common Name: orange stonecrop
Type: Herbaceous perennial
Family: Crassulaceae
Zone: 3 to 8
Height: 0.25 to 0.50 feet
Spread: 0.25 to 1.00 feet
Bloom Time: June to August
Bloom Description: Yellow
Sun: Full sun
Water: Dry to medium
Maintenance: Low
Suggested Use: Ground Cover, Naturalize
Flower: Showy
Tolerate: Rabbit, Deer, Drought, Erosion, Dry Soil, Shallow-Rocky Soil, Air Pollution
Culture
Easily grown in average, dry to medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun. Grows well in sandy or gravelly soils. Tolerant of hot dry sites and some poor soils, but must have good soil drainage in order to perform well. Avoid overwatering. Plants may be sited 12” apart when grown as a ground cover. Tip cuttings from plants may be rooted directly in soil around the plants. Winter hardy to USDA Zone 3.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Sedum kamtschaticum, commonly known as Kamchatka sedum or Kamchatka stonecrop, is a compact low-growing ground cover that typically forms a foliage mat to 6” tall spreading indefinitely by trailing stems to 12-18” wide. It is native to northern China and along the Pacific coast of Siberia including the Kamchatka Peninsula.
Thick, triangular, succulent, scalloped, spatulate to obovate, semi-evergreen, dark green leaves (3/4” to 1 1/2” long) are deciduous at the stem bases but tend to be evergreen at the tips. Tiny, star-shaped, yellow flowers (to 1/2”) bloom in flat cymes (each having 6-10 flowers) in June-August. Flowers give way to small fruits which turn russet red in fall. Most of the foliage disappears in cold winter months.
Genus name comes from the Latin word sedeo meaning to sit in reference to the general growing habit of many of the sedums (they sit and sprawl over rocks).
Specific epithet is in reference to the Kamchatka Peninsula which juts out into the Pacific Ocean from the far eastern Coast of Siberia.
‘Weihenstephaner Gold’ is a cultivar that features starry pale yellow flowers which acquire pink tones with age, blooming in summer on plants clad with and silvery gray-green foliage. It typically grows to only 3-4” tall. It is named after an agricultural college in southern Germany. Although this cultivar is listed herein as a variety of S. kamtchaticum, it is listed by some experts as a cultivar of S. kamtschaticum or as a cultivar of S. floriferum. Some experts consider var. floriferum to be a synonym of the straight species.
Problems
No serious insect or disease problems.
Uses
Rock garden or small area ground cover. Crevices on walls. Best when planted in groups or massed as a ground cover. Tubs or mixed containers.