Sedum 'Vera Jameson'
Hylotelephium 'Vera Jameson' · Crassulaceae
Arching stems of rounded, dusky purple-pink leaves with a grey bloom, ending in heads of dusty rose-pink in late summer.
- Size
- 10 in tall, 18 in wide
- Zones
- 3 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Mid August to late September
- Pets
- Toxic to people
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around sedum 'Vera Jameson'
The planner designed this bed around sedum 'Vera Jameson' 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 'Vera Jameson' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Sedum 'Vera Jameson' × 5, pink
- 2 Yellow ice plant × 7, yellow
- 3 Little bluestem 'The Blues' × 5, tan
- 4 Clary sage × 4, lavender
- 5 Dwarf English boxwood × 1, dark green leaves
- 6 Sideoats grama × 3, purple
- 7 Hyacinth × 12, blue
- 8 Star of Persia × 2, purple
Why this plant
- The only dense clusters. The others are daisies, spires, airy sprays and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only pink.
- The only medium leaves here. The rest are fine and bold. A change of leaf keeps plants distinct when nothing is in flower.
Why here
- On the front edge. At 10 in it frames the bed without hiding it, and it is in leaf all season. It finishes 56% of the edge.
- 5 plants in one run. An unbroken run of one kind gives the edge a clean line.
Why now
- In flower for 7 weeks. From mid August to late September.
- Part of the bed's peak. With little bluestem 'The Blues' and sideoats grama in mid August: 3 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as an English border: 6 of the 6 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Neither end outweighs the other: the visual weight is split 49 to 51, left to right. The scheme leans cool (pink, lavender, purple and blue) and uses yellow for warmth, with tan to calm things between them.
The planner's own design check: 13 Excellent, 4 Good. 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 'Vera Jameson' goes in a border
At 10 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is low (6 to 12 in).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
A low, sprawling sedum for the front, with foliage colour from May onwards. The purple deepens in poor soil and full sun.
- Purple foliage at the front
- Late-summer flowers for butterflies
- Gravel gardens
What to plant with sedum 'Vera Jameson'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Blue fescue: its blue-green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; happy in the same dry soil.
- Lamb's ear: its silver leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; bold leaves against its medium ones; spires rising out of its mound.
- Sedum 'Angelina': its chartreuse leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; low enough (5 in) to stand in front of it; happy in the same dry soil.
Questions about sedum 'Vera Jameson'
Does sedum 'Vera Jameson' need sun or shade?
Sedum 'Vera Jameson' 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 'Vera Jameson' grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 9. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does sedum 'Vera Jameson' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid August to late September. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 3 | Late August to late September |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Late August to late September |
| Zone 5 | Mid August to late September |
| Zone 6 | Mid August to late September |
| Zone 7 | Early August to late September |
| Zone 8 | Early August to late September |
| Zone 9 | Early August to late September |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should sedum 'Vera Jameson' be planted?
16 in (40 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 10 in (25 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many sedum 'Vera Jameson' plants do I need?
At 16 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 7 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 8 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 21 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used five in one group.
Is sedum 'Vera Jameson' poisonous?
Yes: mild toxicity to people. May cause mild stomach upset if eaten.
Is there a native plant like sedum 'Vera Jameson'?
Sedum 'Vera Jameson' is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Blanket flower 'Arizona Sun': the same job in a bed; 4 in narrower, flowers mid June to early October.
- Prairie smoke: the same job in a bed and the same colour; 6 in narrower, flowers late April to late May.
- Goldenrod 'Golden Fleece': the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 8 in taller, yellow, not pink.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after sedum 'Vera Jameson'?
Sedum 'Vera Jameson' is over by late September. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Autumn crocus: from mid September to mid October, 5 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Japanese onion 'Ozawa': from early October to early November, 10 in tall.
- Aromatic aster 'October Skies': from mid September to late October, 20 in tall.
What does sedum 'Vera Jameson' look like in winter?
Sedum 'Vera Jameson' dies down to the ground and there is nothing to see until spring. The old stems can be cut in autumn, or left until spring as shelter for overwintering insects.
More Hylotelephium
- October daphne Hylotelephium sieboldii
- Sedum 'Autumn Fire' Hylotelephium 'Autumn Fire'
- Sedum 'Autumn Joy' Hylotelephium 'Herbstfreude'
- Sedum 'Frosty Morn' Hylotelephium erythrostictum 'Frosty Morn'
- Sedum 'Lidakense' Hylotelephium cauticola 'Lidakense'
- Sedum 'Matrona' Hylotelephium 'Matrona'
- Sedum 'Purple Emperor' Hylotelephium telephium 'Purple Emperor'
- Showy stonecrop 'Brilliant' Hylotelephium spectabile 'Brilliant'
- Showy stonecrop 'Neon' Hylotelephium spectabile 'Neon'
In these guides
- Low plants for the front of a border
- Plants that flower in fall
- Plants with purple and burgundy leaves
Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8 · Zone 9
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 10 in (25 cm) tall, 18 in (45 cm) wide
- Plant
- 16 in (40 cm) apart
- Height class
- Low (6 to 12 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Mid August to late September; dense clusters; pink
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; purple, blue-green
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 9
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Lean, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Crassulaceae
Not yet checked against an outside reference: its figures rest on general horticultural knowledge. 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.