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Sedum dendroideum 'Colossus' (Colossus Tree Sedum) - A succulent shrub to 10 feet tall with 1 1/2-inch-long succulent green leaves that are spathulate at the base with an almost ovate leaf tip and have subepidermal glands along the leaf margin that turn reddish in full sun. These glands distinguish it from the very similar Sedum praealtum that is sometimes listed as a subspecies of Sedum dendroideum (S. dendroideum ssp. praealtum). Both species 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 succulent drought resistant hedge and this variety can even be trained up as a small succulent tree.
Sedum dendroideum 'Colossus' is an unusual form of the species that was re-introduced in 2013 through the Huntington Botanic Gardens International Succulent Introduction program as Sedum dendroideum 'Colossus' ISI 2013-30 but had previously been introduced in 1986 through this same program as Sedum aft dendroideum ISI 1681, noting then that it was "perhaps distinct enough to be a separate taxon, this interesting new plant forms small trees to 10' high with a trunk several inches thick, and terminating in clusters of yellow flowers. Rooted cuts of HBG 45419, plants collected Jan. 27 1981, by Bauml and Kimnach (#354) on Cerro de la Yerba, San Luis Atolotitlan, Puebla, Mexico."
The late Myron Kimnach noted that a small cutting planted in his own back yard grew to 8 feet tall in 8 years. The fitting cultivar name 'Colossus' given to this robust form of the species was coined by Colin Walker. It was originally going to be published in Cactus World, the journal of the British Cactus and Succulent Society, but he allowed it to first be published as a new ISI plant in March-April issue of the Cactus and Succulent Journal the journal of the Cactus and Succulent Society of America.
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. We got our stock plant of this cultivar from the Huntington Botanic Garden in 2014 and it is planted in our nursery garden. The images on this page were taken by John Trager, curator of the Desert Garden at the Huntington Botanic Garden and are used with his permission.
The information about Sedum dendroideum 'Colossus' 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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