🌿 Sedum sexangulare — Six-row stonecrop

🌱 Morphology

A perennial, evergreen, and carpeting succulent that develops creeping and rooting stems capable of forming dense mats about 5–10 cm tall. The flowering stems are more erect and can reach approximately 10–15 cm.

The leaves are very small, fleshy, linear, and cylindrical, about 3–6 mm long, and are densely arranged around the stems, usually forming six helical rows, a characteristic that gives the species its name. They are bright green, and with intense cold or high radiation, they can acquire coppery or reddish hues.

It is a species especially suitable for covering small surfaces, rock gardens, walls, low pots, and xerophytic compositions.

🌍 Distribution, habitat, and family

Family: Crassulaceae.

Sedum sexangulare is a species whose natural range is found mainly in Europe, from Central and Eastern Europe to various regions of the Mediterranean and the Balkans.

It inhabits rocky outcrops, dry grasslands, sandy soils, walls, slopes, and other open environments, generally with good drainage and high sun exposure. Its ability to live on poor, shallow substrates explains its excellent performance as a xerophytic groundcover plant.

❄️ Temperature

USDA Zone: 3–9

It is one of the Sedum species included in this collection with the greatest cold resistance. It can tolerate minimum temperatures down to −20 °C.

This high resistance does not mean it should be kept permanently moist during winter: cold and excess water simultaneously remain an unfavorable combination for any succulent plant.

☀️ Lighting

Indicative DLI PAR: 15–25 mol·m⁻²·day⁻¹.

Full sun or a very bright exposure is recommended. High radiation keeps the stems compact, favors greater leaf density, and can intensify the coppery or reddish hues that appear under certain conditions. The RHS specifically recommends full sun.

It tolerates some partial shade, but with lower light intensity, it may lose density and develop a more open growth habit.

💧 Growth cycle and watering

Opportunistic. It is a perennial and evergreen species, capable of maintaining activity during a good part of the year. Its growth is especially active during seasons with moderate temperatures, while it may slow down during episodes of extreme heat or intense cold.

During the active period, abundant watering is recommended, subsequently allowing the substrate to dry out completely before watering again.

It is drought-tolerant once established. In winter, especially in low temperatures, watering should be spaced out to prevent the substrate from remaining wet for prolonged periods.

🌸 Flowering

Flowering occurs mainly between June and July. The flowering stems protrude above the mat and produce branched inflorescences with numerous small, star-shaped, deep yellow flowers.

Under cultivation conditions in Madrid, flowering can be concentrated approximately between June and July, although it may occur earlier or later depending on the spring.

🌿 Nutrition

During the active growth period, Desert CHOICE® Succulents is recommended, applied in moderation. As it is a naturally compact-growing species adapted to poor soils, it does not require heavy fertilization. Excess nitrogen can lead to overly soft growth and reduce the density of the mat.

This is an inimitable xerophyte grown in Madrid in a technological square pot with the substrate activated with mycorrhizal fungi.

Basic collection pot 13x13 cm