Th<= showy stonecrop (Sedum spectabile) has pinkish flowers in flat clusters four to six inches across in September. Example of the robust or border stonecrops. 



which grow a foot or more high 



The "Fun" of Collecting Stonecrops, I.— By wilhelm Miller, 



New 

 York 



A SHOWY GROUP OF HARDY PERENNIALS WHICH ANYONE CAN GROW — PINKISH, CRIMSON, WHITE OR YELLOW 

 FLOWERS IN FLAT CLUSTERS ABOUT FOUR INCHES ACROSS — IMPORTANT FLOWERS OF MIDSUMMER AND AUTUMN 



EVERYONE who has been interested in 

 gardening for a twelvemonth knows 

 one of the showiest flowers of September — ■ 

 Sedum spectabile, pictured on this page. 

 This illustrates the first of the three types 

 of beauty among the stonecrops, which 

 are as follows: 



I. The Robust or Border Stone- 

 crops, which grow a foot or more high, 

 and have flat clusters of flowers about four 

 inches across. They have erect stems and 

 fleshy leaves. These are the favorites for 

 gardens and most of them bloom in autumn. 

 Example — S. spectabile. 



II. The Creeping Stonecrops, which 

 have two kinds of stems, the barren, 

 trailing ones and the erect, flowering stems 

 which are rarely over six inches high. 

 These are better for edgings than for 

 centrepieces of beds and most of them 

 bloom in midsummer. Example — 5. 

 ternatum. (See page 257.) 



III. The Mossy Stonecrops, which 

 differ from the other two groups in being 

 evergreen. They grow only one to four 

 inches high and are best for rock gardens, 

 and for carpeting bulb and rose beds, and 

 many of them bloom in spring or early sum- 

 mer. Example — J>. acre. (See page 257.) 



On this occasion we can treat only the 

 tall and creeping kinds. 



Stonecrop — What an expressive name ! 

 When I first saw these flowers springing 



up in every pocket of rocks that seemed 

 to be entirely bare of earth, I was smitten 

 with wonder at their hardihood and 

 fecundity. Their thick, fleshy leaves are 

 eloquent, to the initiated, of desert con- 

 ditions, but they have never been re- 

 duced to the horrid condition of cacti, 

 thorny, uncomfortable, grotesque. On the 

 contrary, beginners who admire stonecrops 

 in gardens never suspect that nature has 

 adapted these plants to hot, dry climates 

 and poor, sandy soil. These stonecrops, 

 therefore, have peculiar value for America, 

 because our summers are so hot and dry. 



Part I. — Robust or Border Stone- 

 crops 



Each of the three groups, has a yellow- 

 flowered section and a pinkish section, the 

 latter varying from white and flesh color 

 through crimson-pink to violet and purple. 

 Let us begin with the pinkish section since 

 that is more familiar. 



the showy stonecrop (S. spectabile) 



The most popular of all the Sedums is the 

 showy stonecrop (S. spectabile), which is 

 pictured on this page. The flowers are a 

 brilliant rose when they appear about the 

 middle of September, but by October they 

 fade to a pinkish color. I cannot love 

 this flower; it has too much impertinent 

 254 



detail, as an ageratum has, and its colors, 

 though exciting, are not as desirable as a 

 pure, refined, quiet pink. Nevertheless 

 it is impossible not to admire it, for it 

 makes a brave show when other flowers 

 begin to fail and gardens look seedy. It 

 is also a wonderful magnet for butterflies. 

 "The glaucous foliage, even before the 

 flowers come, is a pleasant relief to any 

 high-colored plant that may be near it," 

 says Robinson. "It withstands cold, heat, 

 or wet, and unlike most plants will grow 

 and flower to perfection in shaded places, 

 thriving in any soil. " These observations- 

 will be enthusiastically endorsed by many 

 American gardeners. 



The flowers vary from rose to dark 

 purple (vars. roseum, purpureum, etc.). 

 The white variety is not very pure or 

 effective, and no one cares to buy it any 

 more. The brightest colors are the most 

 popular. 



the purple-leaved stonecrop 



Purple-leaved stonecrops are very con- 

 spicuous at all times of growth — too much 

 so for my taste. Because of their power- 

 ful color they are considerably used in 

 carpet bedding. They produce few or no 

 flowers, unless in poor, stony soil. S. 

 atropurpureum is a very common name in 

 nursery catalogues, and I should not be 

 surprised if two or three species are passing 



