Sedum ‘Touchdown Teak’

You’ll be hard pressed to find another sedum this dark and handsome. Rosy-red flowers form broccoli-like clusters in late summer to fall.

The Touchdown varieties of sedum were bred to have a vigorous multi-crown habit, making them ideal for growing in containers. Sedum ‘Touchdown Teak’ has arguably the most breathtaking foliage in the series, with vibrant red-brown to purple-brown coloring and thick glossy coating, giving a shining, silver-to-bronze appearance to the leaves. These waxy, slightly scalloped leaves keep their unique leaf color all season. If you’re looking for a super-easy perennial that tolerates drought, heat, poor soil, humidity, and coldwhile still producing beautiful red foliage season after seasonSedum ‘Touchdown Teak’ is the one you want

Bright crimson flowers come on in midsummer, towering 9 inches over the low bush. As summer turns to fall, the color changes to a mellow (yet vibrant) coppery-orange, and it remains on the plant well into winter, holding the snow in nice little sculptures for you. Of course, before the seasons change, butterflies, bees, and birds all take turns feasting on these blooms. And if you’d rather enjoy the winter color indoors, cut the blossoms while they’re fresh, hang them upside down until they dry, and enjoy red Everlastings for months.

Sedum ‘Touchdown Teak’ grows just 8 inches high and quickly spreads to form a carpet 16 inches wide, ideal for the container, and just as well-suited for the center of the perennial border, edging the driveway, or cutting a ribbon of color through the shrub planting. The habit is tight and compact, with multiple crowns peeking out right at ground level. This scarlet beauty could be the foundation for your entire rock garden.

Talk about eye-catchingeven a small planting of this stonecrop catches attention from across the garden, and a mass display is simply showstopping. Such terrific impact from an easy-to-grow, very low-maintenance perennial.

Sedum is famous for its ability to put up with just about anything in the garden, and Sedum ‘Touchdown Teak’ is no exception. Give it full sunshine and reasonably good soil drainage, and it will do the rest. Be sure to pamper Sedum ‘Touchdown Teak’ the first year with plenty of food and water while getting its root system established. Then let it go and watch it flourish. Very tolerant of all kinds of conditions once established, this naturally-healthy plant does not need the help of any chemicals.

Traditional companions include asclepias (butterflyweed), daylilies, and morebasically, anything with a similar tolerance to hot, dry/humid weather, poor soil, and limited water.

Space Sedum ‘Touchdown Teak’ about 18 inches apart for good bushy coverage. Zones 4 to 10.