Aizoon stonecrop is an upright, yellow-flowered stonecrop from East Asia that is grown in rock gardens and on green roofs. It has escaped from gardens in scattered spots in the northern United States, mainly in the Northeast and the colder parts of the Midwest.
Appearance
- Growth form
- A non-creeping perennial that comes back each year from a woody rootstock. It usually sends up one to three unbranched stems about 8–20 in (20–50 cm) tall.
- Leaves
- Fleshy, alternate leaves about 1.4–3.1 in (3.5–8 cm) long, with a wedge-shaped base and irregular teeth along the edge.
- Flowers
- Bright yellow, star-shaped flowers with five petals, gathered in flat-topped clusters at the stem tips.
- Flowering time
- Early summer
- Fruit
- Star-shaped seed pods about 1/4 in (7 mm) long, ripening in late summer and holding tiny seeds.
Look-alikes
Kamchatka stonecropPhedimus kamtschaticus
Kamchatka stonecrop is shorter and forms clumps of several stems, with spoon-shaped or egg-shaped leaves that have rounded tips. Aizoon stonecrop has only one or two taller stems with pointed, oblong leaves.
Why they get mixed upBoth are garden stonecrops with fleshy toothed leaves and yellow star-shaped flowers.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Rocky slopes
- Ravine edges
- Garden escapes
- Range
- Native to China, the Russian Far East, Korea, Japan, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan. In North America it is an introduced plant that has spread from gardens in the northern United States and Canada.
- Preferred conditions
- In its native range it grows on dry, sunny, rocky slopes and in rock crevices.
Growing it
- Care
- Likes full sun but takes light shade, and needs rocky or gravelly soil that drains well. It is drought tolerant, seeds itself readily, and is used on green roofs and in rock gardens and borders.
Name and classification
- About the name
- Long known as Sedum aizoon, and still often sold under that name. Recent classifications move it, with its close relatives, into the genus Phedimus.
- Varieties and forms
- Two color forms are common in gardens: one with bright green leaves and vivid yellow flowers, and one with wine-brown leaves and golden flowers.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
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