Sedum acre, commonly known as gold-moss stonecrop or biting stonecrop, is a tiny, creeping succulent that forms low, evergreen mats. It’s native to Europe and parts of western Asia, and has become naturalized in North America. It’s often used as a drought-tolerant groundcover on sunny, well-drained sites.

What it looks like

• Growth habit: a mat-forming plant typically 1 to 4 inches tall, spreading 1–3 feet or more in favourable conditions. Leaves are tiny, fleshy, conical, and tightly arranged along the stems. When in bloom, slender stems rise with small, star-shaped yellow flowers.
• Leaves and flowers: the leaves are thick and overlapping, giving a scale-like look; flowers are bright yellow, in small clusters during the early to mid-summer. The foliage can take on red tinges in strong sun or cold weather.

Where and how to grow it

• Light and soil: prefers full sun to part shade and grows best in well-drained, sandy or rocky soil. It tolerates poor soils and even coastal/salt spray conditions. This plant is a good choice for rock gardens, walls, green roofs, and as a ground cover in sunny beds.
• Water and drainage: very drought-tolerant; avoid consistently wet or poorly drained conditions. In containers, use coarse, well-drained media.
• Hardiness and habitat: hardy from about USDA zones 3a through 9b, so it’s suitable in a wide range of climates. In nature you’ll find it on rocky places, walls, and coastal habitats.

Care, spread, and cautions

• Growth and maintenance: generally low-maintenance and can be quite vigorous in ideal conditions, spreading readily via shallow roots and stolons. It can be weedy or aggressive in some situations, so it’s easy to manage with regular edging or containment.
• Pests/diseases: few problems beyond occasional slug/snail pressure; avoid overly wet soils to prevent issues.
• Safety note: the plant’s leaves contain acrid sap and can cause skin irritation for some people; be careful handling, especially if you have sensitive skin.
• Edibility: stems and leaves are technically edible in small amounts, but ingestion can cause stomach upset; not a common culinary plant.

Varieties and propagation

• Cultivars: there are several cultivars with different leaf colour and growth habit, including ‘Aurem’, ‘Octoberfest’, and ‘Yellow Queen’.
• Propagation: easy to propagate by division, leaf cuttings, or seeds. Leaves that fall can root to form new plants.

Common uses

• Ground cover on sunny slopes, rock gardens, and between pavers; great for green roofs and container displays due to its drought tolerance and low height. It’s also used where salt tolerance is beneficial and in situations requiring minimal irrigation.

Supplied in 9cm pots