I dug up three spectabiles from a pot at my mom's house last fall and put them in my raised bed:
- One of them died fairly quickly in the first frosts. New growth came back as expected this spring and it is all normal color (right-most in photo 1).
- The largest one that had bloomed didn't die in the first freezes, so I let it be overwinter. I eventually covered the raised bed so it was protected for most of the winter. Somehow it never died, even when we had the cold spell that got down to 13F. However, the coloring changed and it has dark green in the center and light green around the edges of the leaves (top-most plant in photo 2). It sprouted new plants from the roots and has new growths coming off of its stalk. I have never seen them start new growths from the stalk, before. All new growth originally had a bit of a yellowish tint, but they are now a normal color.
- I brought the smallest one inside last winter once it got cold and left it on the grow rack because I was afraid that I transplanted them too late in the year, and wanted a backup that would for sure survive. I assume it was placed too far from the light, as it didn't grow any all winter, and eventually turned soft green and had some other pastel colors come in (bottom plant in photo 1).
Interestingly, it had new growths come out of its roots at the same time that the outdoors plants started sprouting. Even more interesting, the new growths have a color change (close up in photo 2). The new growth on this plant is insanely slow. I guess it just lost too much energy over the winter? It never looked rough or anything, it was just slow. It is beautiful, though. I wish these colors would stick around, but I'm sure they won't.
Hylotelephium/Sedum spectabile overwintering color change
Moderator: Aeonium2003
- nsp88
- Ready to Bolt
- Posts: 518
- Joined: Wed Jun 14, 2023 10:48 am
- Location: Northeast Texas
- USDA Zone: 8a
- JoyinAlb
- Bulbil
- Posts: 85
- Joined: Thu Jan 25, 2024 4:38 pm
- Location: Albuquerque
- USDA Zone: 7b
Re: Hylotelephium/Sedum spectabile overwintering color change
That is weird. I wonder if it is common for that plant to stay green in warm climates. I have autumn joy, but I’ve never loved it because it’s an aphid magnet. I love the pink though. If that color stays, I think I could grow to love the plant.
- nsp88
- Ready to Bolt
- Posts: 518
- Joined: Wed Jun 14, 2023 10:48 am
- Location: Northeast Texas
- USDA Zone: 8a
Re: Hylotelephium/Sedum spectabile overwintering color change
So I just looked up where it's from and it's from Korea and China. I looked up the climate of the southernmost part of Korea that it's from and it definitely gets below freezing there, so it would appear that they would die off in their natural range. So I don't think it's too natural for them to survive the winter, but who knows because that was just a quick search.
While I was looking. I did notice that mine look more like the kind that I see on mainland China than the kind that were in Korea. Not a perfect match though so I'm wondering if maybe mine are a hybrid like autumn joy or something? Or maybe just some genetic variance within the species.
I've heard of big companies treating plants with radiation to try to induce mutations. It would be cool if someone did that with this plant to try to make it stable, but I don't think there's enough interest in them and people lining up to buy these like they do with echeverias. I think it's really beautiful with this coloring, though. It'd be cool to get something like this that is stable. I am sure this will just turn back to green soon.
-
- Ready to Bolt
- Posts: 575
- Joined: Sun Mar 28, 2021 12:09 am
- Location: Nottingham UK
- USDA Zone: A wet 8b!
Re: Hylotelephium/Sedum spectabile overwintering color change
'Autumn Joy's is extremely widespread in cultivation so it would be reasonable to assume yours is either that hybrid or a.seedling from it.
I think the colouration is just a stress reaction of the top growth surviving but getting stressed. I think it will return to being green as the weather warms and growth starts but you never know 100%.
It's quite common for them to sprout from branches that overwinter - you can peg that down to the soil and it will root and form a new plant.
I think the colouration is just a stress reaction of the top growth surviving but getting stressed. I think it will return to being green as the weather warms and growth starts but you never know 100%.
It's quite common for them to sprout from branches that overwinter - you can peg that down to the soil and it will root and form a new plant.
Nottingham, UK
- nsp88
- Ready to Bolt
- Posts: 518
- Joined: Wed Jun 14, 2023 10:48 am
- Location: Northeast Texas
- USDA Zone: 8a
Re: Hylotelephium/Sedum spectabile overwintering color change
edds wrote: ↑Mon Apr 01, 2024 3:55 am 'Autumn Joy's is extremely widespread in cultivation so it would be reasonable to assume yours is either that hybrid or a.seedling from it.
I think the colouration is just a stress reaction of the top growth surviving but getting stressed. I think it will return to being green as the weather warms and growth starts but you never know 100%.
It's quite common for them to sprout from branches that overwinter - you can peg that down to the soil and it will root and form a new plant.
Thanks
Yeah, I assume since the innermost portion is green it will all turn back green, just thought it was really cool that the new growth was off-colored too. Would love if they could get a stable mutation with cool colors, like they do with echeverias. But for now, it is just a fun color to see. Also is cool to see how the green kind of changed on the other one that survived outdoors.
K, thanks! I will consider it. I am debating how much I want them to spread right now.
- nsp88
- Ready to Bolt
- Posts: 518
- Joined: Wed Jun 14, 2023 10:48 am
- Location: Northeast Texas
- USDA Zone: 8a
Re: Hylotelephium/Sedum spectabile overwintering color change
Well, it started growing again and has lost all the pink. One of the little offsets still has a tiny bit of pink but it is gone from the main plant. Would be cool if there was a permanent mutation with something like this.