Growing Lemon Coral Sedum in Pots: A Complete Guide

If you’re going to grow as a gardener, you have to experiment, you need to try new things. It may be a plant you’ve never grown, or how-to advice you’re going to tinker with to make your own. Because gardening advice is necessarily one-size-fits all, and your garden has very specific conditions. That’s how you get to be an experienced gardener, by trying–and sometimes failing–and trying again until you’re happy with the results (or decide it’s not worth the bother). Once you figure out what works for you, it kind of turns into tradition, and you’ll find yourself telling less experienced gardeners that you’ve always done it this way.

I’m wintering over many plants I’ve never wintered over before. I’ve successfully brought dahlias, cannas, gladiola, tuberous begonia and Mirabilis longiflora (a relative of four o’clocks) through the winter in other years. This year I made several impulse purchases which I justified by telling myself I would winter them over. And reading this article on the Proven Winners website made me realize there were other plants I could winter over. Also, I wanted to preserve some of the plants from the gorgeous hanging baskets I received for my birthday this year. That adds up to more than a dozen experiments.

I’m not sure this is going to work, but how do I know unless I try? My wintering over experiments fall into two categories: dormant plants that I hope to bring out of dormancy next spring, and plants that I’m growing as houseplants that will be returned outdoors in the spring. For a few plants, I’m trying them both ways. In the case of the houseplants, I will be happy if they merely survive well enough for me to take cuttings in the spring or to cut them back and induce new, healthy growth. I fully expect them to get leggy and bedraggled with the lower levels of light in my house.

What I did and why

Here’s what I’ve done, plant by plant, in roughly alphabetical order. I hope it inspires you to do some experimenting of your own!

Agapanthus (aka Lily of the Nile) A friend had recommended the Storm series to me: ‘Snow Storm’, ‘Blue Storm’, ‘Thunder Storm’, and ‘Sea Storm’. That’s what I thought I was getting when I ordered ‘Storm Cloud,’ but I didn’t go back and check the email and later found out I was wrong. However, it’s a deep bluish-purple, which is what I was looking for, so onward with the experiment! I received a pretty small plant in the mail, and it didn’t bloom this year. My goal this summer was to enable it to build up size and strength so that it would bloom next year.

Turns out there are deciduous and evergreen agapanthus and you winter them over differently. After some detective work, I determined mine was evergreen, so it came out of the big container on my terrace and into a small container of its own, and is now part of my houseplant collection in the dining room. Our dining room is where our woodstove is located, so it’s the warmest room in the house. We also have a big east-facing window that’s not overhung with a porch roof in this room, so it gets the most light of any window that’s in a warm room.

Begonia I bought tuberous begonias for the Garden Shelter. They seem well-suited for that location, but they were expensive, so I want to winter them over. I have had mixed success wintering them over in past years. I kept one going for two or three years and then one year it just didn’t resprout. Fingers crossed for these Mistral Pink begonias. I’m following the advice on A Way to Garden and keeping them in their hanging baskets.

Coleus (Solenostemon varieties) I bet more people overwinter this tender perennial than any other, because it’s so easy. Cut some stems, stick them in a glass of water, and watch them root. I think it’s best to pot them up soon after, but I confess I haven’t done that yet with mine. I did root some cuttings in vermiculite as well, just to see if I could. I think they “took” and I need to pot them on in potting soil.

Dahlia I used to grow dahlias in pots because I knew I wanted to bring them into the basement for the winter. We had a dirt basement in our former home and one year a dahlia actually rooted into the floor! But dahlias grow bigger and better when planted in the ground, especially in well-amended soil. I wait for a killing frost before digging them. I cut the tops off, leaving about a 6-inch handle of stem. The stems are often as big around as broomsticks, so I resort to loppers to cut them. I use a garden fork, and start further out from the plant than I think I need to, a foot to a foot-and-a-half away from the stem. I stab the fork straight down, and then pry up. The goal is to get the fork under the tubers and lift them up without stabbing or breaking them. I usually try to rinse them, but I didn’t get to it this year. I’m not too worried, because they wintered over just fine in their pots, covered with soil, at the old house. I put them in cardboard boxes, making sure to label the variety on the box, and store them in the coolest part of the basement. The hardest part is finding a big enough box, because the clumps can get really big, and I like to plant them big in the spring, so I don’t want to divide them.

Eucomis (aka Pineapple Lily) I’ve been thinking about trying this bulb for several years, so when I saw some at the Ithaca Garden Fair I snatched them up. They were small offsets from a home gardener and as I suspected didn’t bloom this summer. I removed them from the big pot they were in, shook off as much soil as I could, and then put them in a labeled paper bag, stored in the basement. Hopefully they will grow to blooming size next year. Eventually I want to try some in the ground, inspired by this comment by the Berkshire Botanical Garden, stating that they grow it in the ground in their Zone 5b garden.

Four O’Clocks (Mirabilis jalapa) Someone gave my mom a ‘Limelight’ four o’clock plant. I decided to dig it up and save the tuber, just like I used to do with Mirabilis longiflora. Four o’clocks are easy to grow from seed; why would anyone grow it from a tuber? Because if you start it from seed, it takes longer before it starts flowering. I confess, I have a thing for chartreuse foliage and I would grow it even if it didn’t bloom. Chartreuse foliage looks great with colchicum flowers.

Geranium (As in Pelargonium the bedding plant geranium that we treat as an annual, but is actually a tender perennial.) There were two in each hanging basket that I got for my birthday (pictured near the top of the post). I was inspired by this post in A Garden For The House showing how to rejuvenate geraniums to bloom in the winter. I think I started too late to get them to bloom this winter, but if they make it through the winter I can take more cuttings to grow next spring.

Many other sources say to let them dry out and go dormant, and revive them in the spring. I’m trying both. Besides the two on my windowsill, I’ve got two in the basement that were pried out of the hanging basket and put into a plastic grocery bag, which I loosely tied up. I just went to check on them, and they’re not very dormant. I see pale, yellow growth through the bag. Not sure what I should do about that–if anything.

Gladiolus My husband loves glads. For several years I bought a bag of mixed colors for him to plant in his vegetable garden. He always admired the dark red ones the most. Finally I got smart and bought some deep red ones: ‘Espresso’ and ‘Black Beauty’. Some of the mixed color glads have come back three years in a row, but I’m not taking any chances with these dark beauties. I dug them up, clipped the foliage off, removed the old shriveled corm from the new one, and put them in labeled net bags. They’re down in the basement with the rest of the stash.

Jewels of Opar (Talinum paniculatum ‘Kingwood Gold’) I grew this from seed this year and it looked great with dark purple heucheras and magenta-pink colchicums. I had it once before when it came in with another plant from a Tennessee gardening friend. Everything I read said it would self-sow but it didn’t here. I got seed and grew it again and had five plants this year. I’ve dug the tubers and stored them in a paper bag in the basement. I’ll replant them in the spring and we’ll see how that goes. In the meantime, a Pennsylvania friend gave me some seed. Many people in warmer climates call Jewels of Opar invasive. Keep that in mind if “warmer climate” is where you live.

Rain Lilies (Zephyranthes) A friend from Texas sent me some rain lilies. I thought they were going to be annuals for me until I read on Old House Gardens how one of their customers keeps them going in Wisconsin. I had planted mine in the ground, so dug them up in the fall and replanted them in a clay pot. This year they didn’t bloom much, and I wonder if it’s because they were disturbed. Mine are still in their pot in the dark part of the basement with the other stored plants and still have green leaves on them. I don’t know what it’s going to take for them to dry out and go dormant. I’ll bring the pot back out in the spring.

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) I winter over a rosemary every year, and I wrote about it here. We’ve moved to a new house since I wrote that post, and I finally did get a ‘Salem’ rosemary. At our current home, we have an attached garage on the southern side of the house, so there are no south-facing windowsills for plants–except in the semi-finished room above the garage. It also happens to be quite cool up there, perfect conditions for the rosemary. Well, good enough conditions. Our winters aren’t sunny, so even in a southern exposure the rosemary doesn’t get as much sun as it would like. It also get aphids every winter, but I just ignore them and once the rosemary is back outside, they disappear within a week. I do have to set a reminder for myself to check if it needs water every week, otherwise I would completely forget about it. I rarely go up there.

Salvia There are lots of tender salvias and the advice is to “take cuttings to keep them going.” This year I took some cuttings from a particularly attractive salvia at the same time I took the coleus cuttings. I’m pretty sure they rooted. You’re supposed to look for new growth. With the low levels of light in the house, there hasn’t been much new growth, but I think there’s been some. At any rate, I removed the mini-greenhouse covering (just a lettuce mix container) and they haven’t wilted, which means it’s time to pot them on. I followed the directions on taking cuttings in Making More Plants by Ken Druse.

Golden Sweet Potato Vine (Ipomoea batatas) There were two of these vines in each hanging basket I got for my birthday. I replanted two in a hanging basket and I’m growing them as a houseplant. I harvested the tubers for the other two, tossed them in a paper bag and they’re in the basement with all the rest.

PETITTI Lemon Coral Sedum with Garden Answer

FAQ

How do you care for lemon coral sedum in pots?

Lemon Coral Sedum Care

Although drought tolerant, this annual will give you the best performance with some light shade and adequate moisture. A once a season fertilization for in ground landscape plants, and a regular feeding regimen for container plantings will keep its foliage lush and green.

Does lemon coral sedum like sun or shade?

Like most sedums, Lemon Coral grows best in full sun where its color will be brighter yellow and its shape will be more dense. If full sun isn’t an option, it will also grow in part shade, which means at least 4-6 hours of direct sun per day.

Does sedum grow well in pots?

Sedum (Stonecrop) is a flowering perennial plant in the succulent family. Creeping sedum is often used as ground cover in garden areas, while clumping sedum grows taller. Normally grown in the ground, stonecrop can be easily grown in containers.

How big does lemon coral sedum get?

Mounding & Spilling Habit – Grows low and spreads out, making it ideal for edging, hanging baskets, or as a filler in mixed containers. Compact Size – Stays around 3 to 10 inches tall and spreads about 12 to 24 inches wide.

What are Lemon Coral sedum plants?

lemon coral sedum plants are amazing plants for growing in your gardens, and they also look beautiful in baskets and pots. These are low growing and herbaceous plants; that’s the reason they are called as ground covers.

How do you use Lemon Coral Sedum?

Use Lemon Coral sedum as a cascading element in mixed pots and hanging baskets. The trailing stems make it a perfect “spiller” plant. Contrast the sedum’s bright color with darker companions like purple heart or, dark red coleus. For contemporary chic, match with white and silver foliage plants like dusty miller.

Can Lemon Coral Sedum grow indoors?

Lemon coral sedum is a staple in my garden every year. It’s drought tolerant, fast growing, and is useful in filling both planters and bare patches in the garden. Lemon Coral sedum (sedum mexicanum) is an annual succulent from Proven Winners, and is a highly versatile plant. Recently, I decided to try my hand at growing lemon coral sedum indoors.

Does Lemon Coral Sedum need potting mix?

Lemon Coral sedum prefers fast-draining soil to avoid standing water. A quality cacti/succulent potting mix is ideal. Or you can make your own by mixing: This provides the drainage sedum needs. If your potting mix contains compost or fertilizer, no need to feed the plant further. But in soil-less or nutrient-poor mixes, you’ll need to feed monthly.

Does Sedum mexicanum ‘Lemon Coral’ grow in heat?

Sedum mexicanum ‘Lemon Coral’ grow well in USDA zones 7 to 11. Known for its ability to thrive in the heat, this plant will become a go-to for the sunniest, driest areas of your garden or yard, once established. In fact, this lemon looker tolerates heat better than other Sedum varieties.

How do you water a Lemon Coral Sedum plant?

Backfill and water: Fill the hole with soil, gently pressing it down around the plant. Water thoroughly to settle the soil and help the plant establish itself. Lemon Coral Sedum is remarkably drought-tolerant, meaning it can withstand periods of dryness.