Sedum SunSparkler Blue Pearl - Stonecrop

Sedum 'Blue Pearl' is a hybrid stonecrop with beautiful purple foliage and subtle bluish highlights. Perfect as a border plant or in a rock garden, it forms an upright clump, adorned with dark pink flowers in late summer and autumn. It also thrives in pots. It requires well-drained, moist to dry soil, in full sun.

'Blue Pearl' belongs to the SunSparkler hybrid series, which are recent American selections with amazing foliage. Sedums, or stonecrops, belong to the Crassulaceae family, which includes numerous species of drought-tolerant succulent plants. There are many allies for the garden, with varied shapes and colours. 'Blue Pearl' is a hybrid of Sedum telephium (now known as Hylotelephium telephium), a tall species with sturdy upright stems and ovate leaves with toothed margins. It is found in dry forest edges, on rocks, and banks.

There are already hybrid varieties with purple foliage, but the 'Blue Pearl' variety stands out with its prominent bluish-green shade on the young leaves, as well as at the base and on the undersides of older leaves. The contrast with the purple-red is striking and very pleasant. Between August and October, it produces dark pink flower spikes with a nearly black stem, creating a striking effect. The overall growth forms an upright clump of about 40cm (16in) in all directions. 

Place Sedum 'Blue Pearl' in full sun or very light shade (otherwise its stems will flop). Plant it in well-drained soil that is not too poor or acidic. It can also be easily grown in pots, taking care not to overwater and selecting a substrate that does not retain too much moisture. In winter, the leaves disappear, and you can trim the dry stems at the end of the season.

In a rock garden or dry border, you can pair it with Sedum 'Angelina' as ground cover for a refreshing contrast, or why not combine it with other purple-leaved sedums to create a gradient by playing with shades ('Jose Aubergine', 'Purple Emperor', 'Orange Xenox'). It will also make a good companion for other rock garden plants like Alyssum montanum 'Berggold', Teucrium lucidrys, thymes, and the grasses Koeleria glauca or Festuca 'Elijah Blue'.