I'm thinking of putting in a LOT of sedum to cover bare ground, and have a couple of questions.

Which would be better, Dragon's Blood (Sedum spurium) or Golden Creeping Sedum (Sedum kamtschaticum)? How about a mix of the two?

How fast does it spread?

Which is better, plants or seed?

If seed, how long until germination and spread?

Thanks!

So, no one has an opinion on my sedum question?

I would ask @valleylynn

I think I have kam..... and I like it but am not familiar with dragons blood

Is S kam the bright chartreuse one that you can't kill with a stick? If so, as long as you like the color, that's the one I'd go with. You can just throw pieces all over that bare ground, and it will take root. If you actually take time to root cuttings and pot them up before planting them out -- stand back!

I've tried to keep mine confined to the mailbox bed. Actually, I pulled a lot of it out when putting in tulips last fall... but I have no doubt it will bounce back, as I'm sure I left a few scraps! Also, it has escaped into one or two other areas in the front garden. I did manage to eradicate one or two patches that made it to the back garden with transplants (of other plants). I'll know more in a month but am sure I can bring you a box of it!

nope... looked up sedum kam.. and it looks more like Dragon's Blood in form, only green.

If you like chartreuse, though, the one I was describing is the one you want! Sorry I can't come up with the name. Somebody will know it.

Thanks Jill. I'll take whatever you want rid of. I'm going to put it back in 'wooded' area to cover bare ground.

OK. But you've been warned about how readily it spreads... and about its color! It's not slowed down much by light shade, either. One of the areas it's "escaped" to is 3 feet out from the north side of the house.

That said, it's a really good groundcover, although I doubt it would tolerate regular foot traffic.

Would vinca be a better color for the area you have in mind? My Vinca minor went crazy in the front bed last year, and I need to knock it back. It's been well behaved for years, a little here and there, but last summer and I guess the previous winter it turned into a mass, thick enough that it's obscuring . I was considering applying round-up. I can't offer to pull it, but you'd be welcome to come by and hoe up as much as you'd like. Or for $20, I can put my garden helper to work for an hour, and she'll be able to pull up a remarkable amount. It is Vinca minor, not Vinca major.

Jill, do you mean Sedum Angelina? Pretty good grower, yes.
Or Sedum sarmentosum
https://garden.org/plants/add_...

I can't find the what I thought I had to show you another type

I liked that one but I think the chickens destroyed it.

Not Angelina, although that one does do pretty well... I tried to get it to grow in combination with 'Blue Spruce', though, and gradually lost both! Had them around a baby tree, and maybe the tree gradually produced too much shade?

Sarmentosum sounds right, but let me look it up.

Yes, S. sarmentosum is the one around my mailbox!

critterologist said:Yes, S. sarmentosum is the one around my mailbox!

I think it'll grow almost anywhere-not sure how deep shade it can take though

Right, although it can manage with just a few hours of sun -- it grows 3-4 feet away from a north facing side of the house. It's not quite as dense there as around the mailbox, but that's partially because I keep pulling it up.

Sarmentosum is really what I've been looking for! And I do want something that will 'take over' back there. Definitely NOT interested in any vinca. It's taken me 2 years to clear on of the beds of it.

I think I have S. Sarmentosum too. I'll be glad to bring some. It grows fine in the shade on the north side of my house.

The stuff that I got from Jill in the past was torn up by the freakin' tree rats!

I'm amazed they did a good enough job to eradicate it. If they've decided it's the perfect nest lining, though, you may have trouble growing it there again. Maybe cover it while it gets established?

Or throw some mulch on the bare area... or make it the place for a slow-composting leaf pile... brush pile... there are lots of things to do with a bare spot!

I already have about 40 feet of brush pile. They didn't use it for nesting, they tore it up for bird seed that they scratched out of the feeder.

I still have some left. Sorry the rats tore them up. I like them, because they keep multiplying and are easy to pull when I do not want them.

As I see my ground Ivy Glechoma blooming I wonder If you would like that for your wooded area. Mine loves moist shade but also creeps out in the sunny bed.