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Lemon Coral sedum is a stunning low-growing succulent plant with spiky golden-green leaves. It’s perfect for pots and garden beds and is heat and drought tolerant. It’s even resistant to pests and diseases making it very easy to care for. In this article you’ll learn how to plant, grow, overwinter, and propagate Lemon Coral sedum.
Meet Lemon Coral sedum
Lemon Coral sedum (Sedum mexicanum ‘Lemon Coral’) is grown for its spiky yellow-green foliage and is popular as a container plant or annual ground cover in sunny garden beds. It’s perennial in USDA zones 7 to 11, but most gardeners grow it as an easy-care annual. Bonus: this champ is also deer resistant!
Each plant grows about 9 inches tall, but can spread up to 18-inches across. It’s this trailing growth habit that makes Lemon Coral sedum a good choice for planting along the edge of containers, planters, and baskets. Or use it as a perfect filler in troughs or a statement plant in an urn where it forms dense layers of the spikey chartreuse foliage. When grown on its own in a pot, it almost forms a round ball of the lovely foliage. I love this plant because it’s a tough-as-nails annual that thrives in most container and garden situations.
Learn more about planting, growing, and propagating Lemon Coral sedum in this video:
Where to grow this plant
Succeed with Lemon Coral sedum by planting it in a site with full sun. It can tolerate part sun or light shade, but too much shade results in leggy floppy growth. Aim for a spot with at least 4-6 hours of light, but 8-10 hours of light is the optimum amount of sun. As for soil, it’s quite adaptable. It does best in raised landscape beds with average to dry soils. Avoid planting it in clay or soils with poor drainage. When I grow it in mixed containers with other types of annual plants I use an all-purpose potting mix. If it’s growing on its own in a pot, I prefer to use a well-draining succulent potting mix.
Growing Lemon Coral sedum in containers
This outstanding container plant can be grown in many types of containers including window boxes, terra cotta planters, troughs, baskets, or even a shallow pot. Just be sure to select a container that offers good drainage as this succulent plant won’t thrive in wet soil.
It’s a low maintenance choice for pots as it doesn’t need to be watered or fertilized as much as other container plants like petunias or million bells. Ideally choose a container that is at least 10-14 inches in diameter to ensure enough root space for the plant to grow well.
Planting Lemon Coral sedum
Once you’ve found the perfect pot or garden bed it’s time to plant. Lemon Coral sedum is typically sold in 4-6 inch diameter pots. Carefully slip the plant from the container and gently loosen the rootball. Tuck it into the site and gently firm the soil back around the roots to ensure good soil-root contact. Water after planting and move the pot to a sunny site.
A complete guide to growing Lemon Coral sedum
In terms of maintenance notes, there’s nothing difficult about caring for a Lemon Coral sedum. You’ll need to water regularly, depending on the weather, but other than that, this garden workhorse isn’t fussy. Learn more about caring for the plants below.
How often to water this plant
Like other stonecrops, Lemon Coral sedum is extremely drought tolerant and needs little water. Light to average moisture is best and I’d advise checking the moisture level of the soil prior to watering. Just stick a finger into the growing mix and if its dry two inches down, grab your watering can. Excessive moisture can cause root rot and leaf drop so try not to overwater.
Planting partners for Lemon Coral sedum
The cheerful chartreuse foliage pairs well with many types of annual plants like petunias, million bells, purple fountain grass, coleus and other annuals and perennials. I like to use this succulent plant as a spiller and tuck it at the edge of a pot. However it also makes a perfect filler in large mixed containers producing a dense mound of the spiky leaves.
Should you fertilize Lemon Coral sedum?
Lemon Coral sedum has low fertility needs and in fact, overly rich soils can prompt leggy growth. I grow it in pots with plants, like purple fountain grass, that have similar fertility requirements. The only application of fertilizer I give my plants is a dose of a natural all-purpose plant food when I first transplant the seedlings.
Does this succulent plant produce flowers?
Yes! Lemon Coral sedum has star-shaped yellow flowers that attract pollinators like bees. Expect the most blooms when it’s planted in full sun with the flowers appearing in mid to late summer. The chartreuse foliage pairs beautifully with the sunny blooms.
How to overwinter Lemon Coral sedum plants
In zones 7-11 this is a semi-evergreen perennial plant. However in my zone 5 garden I have to treat it as an annual. I can toss the plants on the compost at the end of summer with plans to buy more in spring from my local nursery or I can overwinter it inside my home. It’s actually easy to overwinter it as an indoor plant (expect it to become one of your favorite new houseplants!).
If it’s planted alone in a pot you can bring the entire pot inside. Just do a quick check for any insect hitchhikers. If it’s planted in combination containers, use your trowel or garden knife to carefully lift it from its pot and transplant it into its own container. In northern climates it’s helpful to use a grow light to offer supplemental lighting during winter to provide enough light for this vigorous sun lover.
How to propagate Lemon Coral sedum
There are several ways to get more Lemon Coral sedum plants.
- Stem cuttings. Using garden snips, clip off a 3 to 4 inch long length of stem just below a set of leaves. Remove the leaves from the bottom inch of the stem and dip into into rooting hormone. Push several of the treated stems into a 4-6 inch pot filled with a well-draining potting mix. Keep the pot in a bright spot, but out of direct sun. New roots will form in a few weeks and the plants can be popped out and transplanted into their own containers.
- Division. At the end of the growing season dig up the sedum plants from your containers or garden beds. Carefully divide them into smaller pieces. If you live in zone 7 or up you can transplant the pieces back into your garden bed. In colder climates, pot the seedlings into individual containers. Water well and keep them indoors in a bright spot until spring arrives.
To sum up
If you need more convincing on why Lemon Coral sedum has earned a place in the winner’s circle, let me point out that it has won numerous plant awards. It’s also reliable, tolerant of heat and drought, resistant to deer and other pests, and can be used in endless ways on decks and in garden beds. It’s even great in a difficult growing situation like the top of a rock wall or on a hot patio. The beautiful color of the foliage lights up partial sun to full sun gardens – just don’t plant it in full shade.
For more information on growing succulent plants be sure to read these articles:
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