Gardening Plants & Flowers Groundcovers & Vines

10 Sedum (Stonecrop) Varieties To Plant as Ground Cover

By
Kathleen Connolly
KConnolly_headshot_Lorenz_MG_4506.jpg
Kathleen Connolly

Kathleen Connolly has been an advanced master gardener and accredited organic lawn care professional for over 30 years, specializing in lawn care, horticulture, and landscape design.

Learn more about The Spruce's Editorial Process
Updated on 04/17/24
Green sedum (stonecrop) as ground cover

The Spruce / Autumn Wood

The large Sedum genus of 400 to 500 species commonly known as stonecrops includes many with a low-growing growth habit. These sedums make excellent ground covers in hot, arid areas where other plants struggle to survive. They not only tolerate dry, rocky soil but positively thrive in it. A bonus is that sedums are generally deer-resistant. 

Although all sedums flower, they are usually grown for their foliage, which comes in interesting shades of green not found in most other plants. Low-growing sedums readily spread but they're not invasive and their shallow root systems make them easy to remove if needed.

Here are 10 popular low-growing stonecrop varieties that work well as ground cover plants.

Fun Fact

Plant taxonomists sometimes remove plants from one genus and reassign them to a new one. Sedum is one such group of plants, in which several common species have been reassigned to new genera. However, they are often still referred to as sedums in the horticultural trade. For example, the popular 'Autumn Joy' sedum is now formally known as Hylotelephium 'Autumn Joy.'

  • 01 of 10

    White Sedum

    White sedum with green and purple coloring

    White Crest Gardens

    White sedum has white flowers and green foliage that turns reddish in autumn. It blooms in summer and is an excellent ground cover for thin, poor soils or rocky embankments. White sedum is, however, a relatively slow-growing plant. Drought conditions may turn the foliage pinkish, but this species has excellent tolerance for dry conditions.

    • Name: White sedum (Sedum album)
    • USDA Hardiness Zones: 3-9
    • Light: Full sun; tolerates light shade
    • Flower Color: White
    • Mature Size: 3–6 inches tall, 12-18 inches spread
  • 02 of 10

    'Murale'

    Green 'Murale' sedum

    Missouri Botanical Garden

    'Murale' is a sedum cultivar with bronze foliage and pink flowers that bloom in early summer and attract butterflies. It has a similar growth habit as the rest of the species but is a slightly smaller plant overall.

    • Name: 'Murale' (Sedum album 'Murale')
    • USDA Hardiness Zones: 3-9
    • Light: Full sun; tolerates light shade
    • Flower Color: Pink
    • Mature Size: 3–4 inches tall, 12-18 inches spread
  • 03 of 10

    Cascade Stonecrop

    Green cascade stonecrop

    Little Prince Plants

    Cascade stonecrop often known as spreading stonecrop, is a perennial species that blooms with yellow flowers in midsummer. The leaves are green but show a reddish tinge in full sun. Individual plants can spread up to several feet in irregular directions from the crown.

    • Name: Cascade stonecrop (Sedum divergens)
    • USDA Hardiness Zones: 4-9
    • Light: Full sun; tolerates light shade
    • Flower Color: Yellow
    • Mature Size: 3–4 inches tall, 12-24 inches spread
  • 04 of 10

    Pink Mongolian Stonecrop

    Pink Mongolian stonecrop with green leaves and pink and white flowers

    World of Succulents

    Once categorized as Sedum ewersii (and sometimes still sold under this name), pink Mongolian stonecrop is now officially known as Hylotelephium ewersii. This is an excellent small ground cover plant that blooms in late summer with pink flowers. The leaves are blue-gray. It should be clipped to the ground in late fall as it begins to die back. Well-suited for dry soil, pink Mongolian stonecrop is a great rock garden plant.

    • Name: Pink Mongolian stonecrop (Hylotelephium ewersii)
    • USDA Hardiness Zones: 2–9
    • Light: Full sun, partial shade
    • Flower Color: Pink
    • Mature Size: 4–6 inches, 12 inches spread
    Continue to 5 of 10 below
  • 05 of 10

    'Blue Spruce' Sedum

    Blue spruce sedum with a yellow bird in its green foliage

    The Tree Farm

    'Blue Spruce' sedum is named for the bluish needle-like foliage resembling that of some evergreen shrubs, and it works well as a transition between low-sprawling evergreens, such as juniper or yews. This is a fast-growing plant that produces a blanket of small yellow flowers in mid to late summer. Like most sedums, 'Blue Spruce' is easy to propagate from cuttings.

    • Name: 'Blue Spruce' sedum (Sedum reflexum 'Blue Spruce' or S. rupestre 'Blue Spruce')
    • USDA Hardiness Zones: 4–9
    • Light: Full sun
    • Flower Color: Yellow
    • Mature Size: 4–8 inches, 12-24 inches spread
  • 06 of 10

    Japanese Stonecrop

    Japanese stonecrop with red-rimmed green leaves and pink flowers

    Digigalos/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 3.0

    Once categorized within the Sedum genus, this plant is now a member of the related Hylotelphium genus. The Japanese stonecrop has silver-blue leaves with distinctive red edges as well as hot-pink flowers that appear in fall (thus, another common name for this plant is October sedum). The plant is especially good for brightening dark corners of a landscape.

    • Name: Japanese stonecrop (Hylotelephium sieboldii)
    • USDA Hardiness Zones: 3-9
    • Light: Full sun; tolerates light shade, especially in hot climates
    • Flower Color: Hot pink
    • Mature Size: 3-4 inches, 12-24 inches spread
  • 07 of 10

    'Purple Emperor'

    'Purple Emperor' sedum with purple leaves and pink flowers

    World of Succulents

    'Purple Emperor' has plum foliage and pink inflorescence that complement plants with silver foliage or yellow flowers. This is a more upright plant than many of the ground cover sedums. It works well for filling pockets in rock gardens and sunny border gardens.

    • Name: 'Purple Emperor' (Hylotelephium telephium 'Purple Emperor')
    • USDA Hardiness Zones: 4–9
    • Light: Full sun; enjoys some shade, especially in very hot climates
    • Flower Color: Yellow
    • Mature Size: 12–15 inches tall and spread
  • 08 of 10

    'Angelina' Stonecrop

    'Angelina' stonecrop with yellow-green foliage

     The Spruce / Autumn Wood

    'Angelina' stonecrop is a gold-leaved sedum that turns bronze when the weather gets cold. Tiny yellow flowers appear throughout the summer. This mat-forming plant works well in dry areas, rock gardens, containers, and hanging baskets, and its color contrasts nicely with plants that have dark foliage.

    • Name: 'Angelina' stonecrop (Sedum rupestre 'Angelina')
    • USDA Hardiness Zones: 3–9
    • Light: Full sun, partial shade
    • Flower Color: Yellow
    • Mature Size: 4-6 inches tall, 1-3 feet spread
    Continue to 9 of 10 below
  • 09 of 10

    Chinese Sedum

    Chinese sedum with green leaves with red-orange coloring

    Missouri Botanical Garden

    'Coral Reef' is a cultivar of Chinese sedum and one of the few sedum types with a warm yellowish color. Tiny white or pink flowers appear in July and August, although the foliage color is its most notable attribute. Mixing well with dark green plants, 'Coral Reef' makes a perfect ground carpet when planted en masse because of its low, spreading nature. Like most sedums, it's easy to propagate from stem cuttings.

    • Name: Chinese sedum (Sedum tetractinum 'Coral Reef')
    • USDA Hardiness Zones: 5–8
    • Light: Full
    • Flower Color: White, pink
    • Mature Size: 2–3 inches, 12 inches spread
  • 10 of 10

    Russian Stonecrop

    Russian stonecrop with green leaves and yellow flowers

    Epic Gardening

    Russian stonecrop has deep green leaves and golden yellow flowers that appear in late summer. It's a reliable, fast-growing plant that can be used for filling in spaces in rock gardens or chinks in stone walls as well as blanketing sunny areas. The foliage turns into an attractive bronze in the fall.

    • Name: Russian stonecrop (Sedum kamtschaticum)
    • USDA Hardiness Zones: 3–8
    • Light: Full sun
    • Flower Color: Yellow
    • Mature Size: 3–6 inches, 16 inches spread

Learn More

If you would like to learn more about sedum and succulents, read on.

FAQ
  • Is there a difference between sedum and stonecrop?

    The two have become interchangeable with each other. However, the term stonecrop identifies many different plants that grow in dry, rocky terrain (hence the name stonecrop) in the Crassulaceae family. At the same time, sedums are technically plants in the Sedum genus, which includes up to 500 species.

  • Are stonecrops perennial?

    Stonecrops are hardy, drought-tolerant perennial species popular in xeriscaping, rock gardens, and containers.

  • How fast does stonecrop grow?

    Sedum and stonecrop are fast growers. One variety, 'Angelina,' grows fast and can be planted at any time of year, but it can take a year or two before it flowers.

25 Low-Maintenance Ground Cover Plants for Sun and Shade