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Sedum dendroideum (Tree Sedum) - Although the epithet and common name imply this plant to be a tree, it is actually a small shrub. This particular form grows to 1 to 3 feet tall spreading to 3 to 4 feet wide and rooting along stems to form a large low mass but though we do grow a larger form called Sedum praealtum that is often listed as a subspecies of Sedum dendroideum (S. dendroideum ssp. praealtum). Both plants have clusters of small vivid yellow star-like flowers that form above the foliage in late winter and early spring.
Plant in full sun to part shade in a well-draining soil and water infrequently to not at all in coastal gardens. Frost hardy to the mid 20s F and useful in USDA zone 9 and above. This is a nice plant for the dry garden that has flowers that attract bees and other pollinating insects. It is an attractive shrub and useful as a low succulent drought resistant border plant. It is a great drought tolerant small shrub with nice foliage color and cheery yellow spring flowers. Useful in street medians and other locations where a low growing, low maintenance, drought resistant plant is needed and the flowers are attractive to bees and other pollinating insects.
Sedum dendroideum is native to a wide range of habitats throughout much of Mexico from the state of Chiapas in the south north through Oaxaca, Veracruz, Puebla, Tlaxcala, Hidalgo, Mexico City, and Michoacan. The name for the genus comes from the Latin word 'sedo' meaning "to sit," in reference to the manner in which some species attach themselves to stones or walls. The specific epithet means "tree-like" or "resembling a tree". Other common names include Tree Stonecrop and False Hens-and-chickens.
Sedum dendroideum is a plant in the Pachysedum group of the genus, one of 22 subdivisions within the genus Sedum that the German botanist Alwin Berger created and that American botanist Robert Clausen expanded upon. This group includes more than 90 closely related tender succulent species from North America that appear to be more closely related to Echeveria, Pachyphytum and Graptopetalum than to plants in other sections in Sedum. Unlike these other Sedum that produce terminal inflorescences on the stem, plants in this group have lateral inflorescences. This selection of the species came to us from the Huntington Botanic Garden as accession number HBG 21756 and was received by them from Reid Moran (RM 14795) in May 1968 from material collected in Mexico at La Cañada in the state of Querétaro. We have grown it since 2017.
The information about Sedum dendroideum that is displayed on this web page is based on research conducted in our nursery's horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We will also include observations made about this plant as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens that we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We also incorporate comments that we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they share cultural information that aids others growing this plant.
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