Sedum 'Blue Spruce'
Sedum reflexum 'Blue Spruce' ·
Trailing stems of needle-like, blue-grey leaves look like the tips of spruce branches. Yellow flowers on tall stalks appear in summer.
- Size
- 6 in tall, 18 in wide
- Zones
- 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Grown for its leaves; flowers mid June to mid July
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Carpet
A bed built around sedum 'Blue Spruce'
The planner designed this bed around sedum 'Blue Spruce' when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 715 that suit those conditions and its dry soil, and says below why sedum 'Blue Spruce' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Sedum 'Blue Spruce' × 16, blue-green leaves
- 2 Blanket flower 'Arizona Sun' × 8, red
- 3 Little bluestem 'The Blues' × 3, tan
- 4 Italian bugloss 'Dropmore' × 5, blue
- 5 Eastern prickly pear × 1, yellow
- 6 Butterfly weed × 3, orange
- 7 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 4, purple
- 8 Star of Persia × 4, purple
Why this plant
- The only plant grown for its leaves. Leaf lasts all season, where a flower lasts a few weeks.
Why here
- Under the taller plants. It runs back between them as living mulch: there its job is to cover the soil, not to be looked at.
- 16 plants in 4 groups (5, 5, 3 and 3). Seen again further along, the same plant ties the bed together.
- Fine leaf against bold. Eastern prickly pear is beside it: the strongest contrast of leaf there is.
Why now
- Here for its leaves, all year. They cover the 20 weeks between early March and late November when nothing on the plan is in flower.
- One of two evergreens. They are what the bed has to show from November to March.
Planned as an English border: 5 of the 6 groups (83%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Italian bugloss 'Dropmore' and little bluestem 'The Blues' anchor the back corners of the bed: the tallest plants on the plan stand there. Sedum 'Blue Spruce' repeats along the bed to tie it together.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 4 Good, 1 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where sedum 'Blue Spruce' goes in a border
At 6 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is ground-hugging (up to 6 in).
Its job: carpet. A groundcover planted in threes and fives to cover the soil: along the front, and just behind it.
The blue needles are a fine contrast to broad or golden leaves. Planted with gold 'Angelina' it makes a two-colour carpet that needs no care.
- Blue, fine-textured groundcover
- Rock gardens and wall tops
- Green roofs and containers
What to plant with sedum 'Blue Spruce'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Sedum 'Angelina': happy in the same dry soil.
- Hens and chicks: happy in the same dry soil.
- Sedum 'Dragon's Blood': adds the flowers, late June to early August; happy in the same dry soil.
Questions about sedum 'Blue Spruce'
Does sedum 'Blue Spruce' need sun or shade?
Sedum 'Blue Spruce' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants dry, sharply drained soil, on the lean side, with no feeding, and little watering once settled.
What zones does sedum 'Blue Spruce' grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 9. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
How far apart should sedum 'Blue Spruce' be planted?
12 in (30 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 18 in (45 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 6 in (15 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many sedum 'Blue Spruce' plants do I need?
At 12 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 12 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 11 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 38 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as threes and fives, along the front and just behind it.
In the bed above, the planner used 16 in four groups.
Is sedum 'Blue Spruce' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Is there a native plant like sedum 'Blue Spruce'?
Sedum 'Blue Spruce' is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Pussytoes: the same job in a bed and the same size; not evergreen.
- Three-toothed cinquefoil: the same job in a bed and the same size; flowers late May to early July.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Will sedum 'Blue Spruce' spread?
It spreads sideways, by runners or roots; the risk of it taking over is moderate. Spreads steadily by creeping stems. It is easy to pull out, but needs a firm edge.
What does sedum 'Blue Spruce' look like in winter?
Sedum 'Blue Spruce' keeps its blue-green leaves all winter, so it is one of the plants that hold a bed together from November to March, when the perennials have gone.
More Sedum
- Goldmoss stonecrop Sedum acre
- Russian stonecrop Sedum kamtschaticum
- Sedum 'Angelina' Sedum rupestre 'Angelina'
- Sedum 'John Creech' Sedum spurium 'John Creech'
- Sedum 'Tricolor' Sedum spurium 'Tricolor'
- Tasteless stonecrop Sedum sexangulare
- White stonecrop 'Coral Carpet' Sedum album 'Coral Carpet'
- Woodland stonecrop Sedum ternatum
In these guides
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Low plants for the front of a border
- Groundcover plants
- Evergreen perennials, ferns and grasses
Zone guides: Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial (groundcover)
- Size
- 6 in (15 cm) tall, 18 in (45 cm) wide
- Plant
- 12 in (30 cm) apart
- Height class
- Ground-hugging (up to 6 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Mid June to mid July; dense clusters; yellow
- Leaves
- Fine texture, evergreen; blue-green
- Shape
- Mat-forming, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Lean, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.