SEDUM BLISS

No Chelsea Flower Show this year – the cloud of Covid still hangs over us. But the 2019 RHS Plant of the year was Sedum takimense Atlantis, and I bought two, and this summer Atlantis in its pot has been glorious, white and pale green shoots topped by flurries of tiny gold flowers.  In sun for only half the day, it has flowered for weeks and been a consolation for everything.  This photo I am sorry to say was taken towards the end of its glory.  The other Atlantis, in the front of a border, has not been happy.  I moved it to a pot.

Now, to propagate Atlantis.  The happy fact of sedums is that they are succulents, storing water in stems and leaves, and a plucked stem will send out roots while sitting in a glass of water.  It may then be put in a pot to grow into a sturdy plant.

Sedum spectabile Autumn Joy has been a pleasure in the border for years, tough, reliable, flowering in the late summer and autumn and sometimes covered by butterflies, particularly tortoiseshells. After the thrill of Atlantis I shall search for others.