KY Garden Flowers - Sedum to Sutera

*Sedum*	*Senecio*	*Solidago*	*Stokesia*
*Sempervivum*	*Setcreasea*	*Stachys*	*Sutera*

Sedum - Stonecrop

Flower Color	Height	Season	Pests	Uses	Propagation
yellow, pink, red, white, lilac	3"- 24"	summer, fall	few	edging, ground cover, border, dried	stem cuttings, division, seed

Performance - Sedums are excellent and underused garden perennials for full sun flower gardens in Kentucky. The upright forms are easy to grow and tolerant of our long hot summers. The prostrate forms are generally quick growing ground covers that are semi-evergreen. They grow just about anywhere except wet areas.

Ground cover types - This is a varied group of plants grown mostly for the effect of the foliage. The texture and color are varied, and some do produce blooms. The foliage may burn back in a cold winter.

Sedum acre - Goldmoss Stonecrop - This mat forming sedum flowers in late spring with yellow flowers.
Sedum kamtschaticum - Kamtschatka Stonecrop – This plant is taller than S. acre and best for trailing in a rock garden.
Sedum spurium - Two Row Stonecrop - These plants perform best in spring and fall, but flower during the summer.
'Album', 'Atropurpureum', 'Coccineum', 'Dragon's Blood' - foliage is purplish bronze, flowers are dark red, 'Ruby Mantle', 'Variegatum', ‘Vera Jameson’.

Upright forms -
x 'Autumn Joy' - Autumn Joy Sedum - The foliage is succulent in texture and the plants are uniform and mounded in habit. They produce pink to red blooms in late summer. This is an outstanding perennial for Kentucky gardens. This plant is also known as 'Herbstfreude', Sedum spectabile, or Hylotelphium spectabile.
'Atropurpureum' – This is the best purple form with dark bronze leaves and rose-red flowers.
x 'Frosty Morn' -
Sedum spectabile - Showy Sedum – ‘Brilliant’, ‘Stardust’.


‘Autumn Joy’	‘Brilliant’	‘Stardust’	‘Vera Jameson’

Sempervivum tectorum - Hen and Chicks, Common Houseleek, Old Man and Woman

Flower Color	Height	Season	Pests	Uses	Propagation
purple red	3"- 8"	summer	few	edging, container	cuttings

Performance - Hen and chicks are a traditional and reliable perennial for Kentucky gardens. They grow best in full sun and dry soils, and require little care.

Comments - Hen and chicks have been popular for many years because they are so easy to propagate, just break off a piece and plant it in the new location.

Varieties - 'Atropurpureum', 'Limelight', 'Pacific Hawk', 'Silverine'. Other Sempervivum species can also be grown in Kentucky gardens.

Senecio cineraria - Dusty Miller

Flower Color	Height	Season	Pests	Uses	Propagation
yellow or cream	10" - 24"	spring	root and stem rot	edging, foliage plant, container	seed, cuttings

Performance - Dusty Miller is a common and reliable annual, sometimes perennial, for Kentucky flower gardens. It grows best in full sun and dry soils rich in organic material. They tolerate Kentucky summers very well.

Comments - Some varieties will keep their silvery foliage right through the winter, followed by flowers in the spring. They usually die during the following summer. These plants are grown primarily for their dusty gray foliage. Remove flowers to promote more foliage.

Varieties - 'Silver Cloud', 'Silver Dust', 'Silver Lace'

Setcreasea pallida ‘Purple Heart’ - Purple Heart

Flower Color	Height	Season	Pests	Uses	Propagation
lavender	8" - 15"	summer	few	edging, foliage plant, container	cuttings

Performance - Purple Heart is a tropical plant, related to Wandering Jew, which performs well as an annual in Kentucky flower gardens. The plant has purple colored foliage and grows well during the summer. Purple Heart grows well in full sun but can tolerate shady conditions and can be grown as a house plant.

Comments - Purple Heart is easy to propagate from cuttings, even in a glass of water on the windowsill. Purple Heart may also be called Tradescantia pallida ‘Purpurea’.

Solidago rugosa ‘Fireworks’

Solidago - Goldenrod

Flower Color	Height	Season	Pests	Uses	Propagation
yellow, gold	24"- 60"	spring and late summer	rust	border, natural gardens	seed, cuttings

Performance - Goldenrod is a reliable perennial flower for Kentucky gardens and landscapes. Thirty-one species of goldenrod are native to the state and it is the state flower. Goldenrod grows best in full sun gardens in most soils. Some natives are much too aggressive, with stoloniferous stems, for gardens, but many, especially cultivars are appropriate.

Comments - Unfortunately many Kentuckians believe goldenrod is the source of fall hay fever allergies, but it is not (ragweed is the culprit).

Varieties - 'Baby Gold', 'Crown of Rays', 'Goldenmosa', 'Fireworks', 'Peter Pan'.

Stachys byzantina - Lamb's Ears, Wooly Betony

Flower Color	Height	Season	Pests	Uses	Propagation
purple	1-2 ft.	late spring	crown rot	edging, ground cover	division

Performance - Lamb's ears is a reliable, easy-to-grow perennial for Kentucky gardens and landscapes. The plants can be grown in full sun but will tolerate semi-shade. Lamb's ears needs well drained soils for best performance. The plants should be divided every few years to reduce crowding. Hot, humid conditions promote disease problems which often result in dead patches. The plants generally start to recover in the fall.

Comments - The plants are generally grown for the effect of the foliage. The bloom spikes are showy but short-lived. They should be removed after bloom or before to maintain the vigor of the plants. The plants will self-sow in some years.

Varieties - 'Big Ears', 'Cotton Boll', 'Primrose Heron', 'Silver Carpet' does not produce flowers. This plant is sometimes called Stachys lanata.

‘Purple Parasols’

Stokesia laevis - Stokes' Aster

Flower Color	Height	Season	Pests	Uses	Propagation
blue, white	12" - 20"	early summer	few	edging, border	seed, division

Performance - Stokes' Aster is a relatively new but reliable perennial flower for Kentucky gardens. They grow best in full sun and well drained soils. These plants are native to the southeast U.S. and Kentucky is near the upper range for winter hardiness.

Comments - An excellent plant for Kentucky gardeners to enjoy.

Varieties - 'Alba', 'Blue Moon', 'Klaus Jellito', 'Mary Gregory', 'Omega Skyrocket', 'Purple Parasols' (developed in Kentucky), 'Silver Moon'.

Sutera cordata - Bacopa

Flower Color	Height	Season	Pests	Uses	Propagation
white, lavender, rose	3"- 6"	summer	few	ground cover, edging, container	cuttings

Performance - Bacopa is a relatively new plant that is commonly grown in hanging baskets as an annual. The plants grow best in full sun and well drained soils. Plants perform well in baskets and containers; landscape performance was only mediocre in our trials in the summer of 2000.

Comments - The plants flower continuously as long as they are well watered in the containers. The white flowering varieties are the most vigorous and showy. Be sure to keep them well fertilized throughout the summer.

Varieties - 'African Sunset', 'Giant Snowflake', 'Lavender Storm', 'Snowstorm'.


Bacopa ‘Snowstorm’	Bacopa cultivars at Proven Winners

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