Does sedum not do well in pots?
Question:I want to give out little potted plants as wedding favors, and I decided to go with sedum (s. pachyclados and s. hispanicum minus, aka white diamond and purple form) because sedum is so easy to propagate -- I could just buy a few plants and split them up. It doesn't seem to be doing very well in little pots, though, and I'm wondering if I've chosen the wrong plant. (I might have just left it out in the heat too much, though.) Has anyone had success growing sedum in pots indoors? Or can anyone think of a plant that can grow indoors and/or be transplanted outdoors in Portland, OR (zone 8)? I'd like it to be hardy enough so that the plants don't die the day after the wedding. :)
Answers:
I have grown sedum in pots and it does pretty well. Maybe its just a little bit of transplant shock
I have never heard of potted Sedum and I grew up in a nursery.
Portland is great for growing almost anything with all that rain, but since you want an indoor plant, why not visit a garden center and get something that matches your wedding colors and is popular there?
I am married to a chef so a small rosemary would be great outdoors and can be brought inside in the winter. You could tie ribbons in your wedding colors and your guests could cook with your thoughtful gift for years. The plant is almost indestructible and grows in moderate to desert heat.
sedum does just fine in pots, but i've always seen it outdoors. it's the potting material you need to be concerned with. it should have good, sharp drainage, of course, but it shouldn't be too porous. commercial potting soil is formulated for indoor, overwatered plants, so if you're growing them outdoors you should add in at least 50 percent local soil for moisture retention and microbes. sedum is ok in zone 8, but it wants little water in the winter, and that's NOT what's happening in oregon, so stick with pots which can be brought under the eaves or indoors during the wet winter months. also, they like neutral to slightly acidic soil, so if the soil is full of organic matter, it will probably be too acidic. add some agricultural lyme.
Sedum (stonecrop) will survive in pots. In fact, it tends to "sprawl" in late fall and often looks neater in pots. Sedum is, however, a succulent outdoor plant (there are over 600 different sedum species!) that likes dry sandy or clay soil and full hot sun.
I couldn't believe Oregon had Zone 8 areas until I looked it up! For plants that might do well in Zone 8, Lowe's has an excellent list at http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=pg... One of these may catch your fancy. Good luck!
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