Sedum 'Honey Gold' (hylotelephium) CENSATION™ HONEY GOLD stonecrop, iceplant
Sedum
Stonecrops (ice plants) are variable and usually very tough perennials popular for their zero requirements for water and maintenance. Most of our C.E. cultivated hardy species and varieties are best grown in xeriscape conditions and offer a good range of foliage and flower colours. In order to separate the taller ones with stems from the groundcovering species, botanists and growers prefer to use hylotelephium for the taller ones.
Honey Gold is a stonecrop variety from a Dutch series CENSATION™ marketed by CNB New Plants. It makes upright, light green flushed amber orange, 20-30 cm tall stems. In late August appear small, star-shaped, melliferous flowers composed in dome-shaped corymbs that are pale yellow in colour which is unique in the world of predominantly red or pink coloured hylotelephiums. Just don’t believe those manipulated internet pictures showing plants that are yellow like a canary, Honey Gold is really only pale yellow, yet very interesting and elegant.
Flowering begins in the second half of August and as the flowers become dry they remain attractive till the first soft rime. As every upright sedum it looks best planted in a mass or at least three plants together for a richer display of its flowers. Flowers provide excellent food for bees, especially in autumn when there is not much nectar in the landscape. Deciduous leaves are pale green, broadly ovate.
Stonecrops are perfect plants for autumn borders. They provide an extra colour on plant of architectural value. These perennials are easy to grow, they will like almost any well-drained soil, they do well in rockeries and outdoor pots (without a saucer). Cut them back in early spring but be careful not to damage young buds at the ground which are frequently formed yet before winter and overwinter until springtime. Let them dry out before next watering - excess water brings a danger of fungi diseases. Fully hardy to min. -34 °C (USDA zone 4).
Last update 04-10-2021
