Phedimus spurius (Syn. Sedum spurium) ‘John Creech’ after I brought it home on 4-24-17, #322-4.
Caucasian Stonecrop, Two-Row Stonecrop
Phedimus spurius ‘John Creech’
FED-ih-MUS SPUR-ee-us
SYN.
Sedum spurium ‘John Creech’
SEE-dum SPUR-ee-um
Synonyms of Phedimus spurius (19) (Updated on 12-15-23 from Plants of the World Online: Anacampseros ciliaris Haw. (1812), Anacampseros dentata Haw. (1821), Anacampseros spuria (M.Bieb.) Haw. (1821), Asterosedum spurium (M.Bieb.) Grulich (1984), Crassula crenata Desf. (1808), Phedimus crenatus (Desf.) V.V.Byalt (2001), Phedimus spurius subsp. oppositifolius (Sims) L.Gallo (2020), Sedum ciliare (Haw.) Sweet (1826), Sedum congestum K.Koch ex Boiss. (1872), Sedum crenatum (Desf.) Boiss. (1872), Sedum dentatum (Haw.) DC. (1828), Sedum denticulatum Donn ex Haw. (in unknown publication), Sedum involucratum M.Bieb. (1808), Sedum lazicum Boiss. (1856), Sedum oppositifolium Sims (1816), Sedum spurium M.Bieb. (1808), Sedum spurium var. oppositifolium (Sims) P.Fourn, (1936), Sedum spurium f. splendens Farrer (1919), Spathulata spuria (M.Bieb.) Á.Löve & D.Löve (1985)
Phedimus spurius (M.Bieb.) ‘t Hart is the accepted scientific name for this species of Phedimus. It was named and described as such by Henk ’t Hart in Evolution and Systematics of the Crassulaceae in 1995. It was first named and described as Sedum spurium M.Bieb. by Friedrich August Marschall von Bieberstein in Flora Taurico-Caucasica in 1808.
Phedimus spurius/Sedum spurium ‘John Creech’ was named after Dr. Jon Creech, former director of the U.S. National Arboretum. Dr. Creech discovered this plant in the Siberian Academ Gorodok Gardens in 1971. The plant was identified by Ray Stephenson in 1971 as a rare, small-leaved, pink-flowered form of Sedum spurium.
The genus, Phedimus Raf., was named and described by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in the American Monthly Magazine and Critical Review in 1817.
The genus, Sedum L., was named and described as such by Carl von Linnaeus in the first volume of the first edition of Species Plantarum in 1753.
As of 12-15-23 when this page was last updated, Plants of the World Online by Kew lists 18 species in the Phedimus genus. It is a member of the plant family Crassulaceae with 36 genera. POWO lists 476 species in the Sedum genus… Those numbers could change as updates are made on POWO.
I had been in correspondence with one of the foremost Crassulaceae experts, Margrit Bischofberger of the International Crassulaceae Network, and she had this to say in an email in 2013…
“The genus Sedum in a wide sense has been used to accommodate a great number of sometimes fairly diverse plants. At the end of the last century botanists have begun to separate certain groups with distinctive features and give them new names, > Phedimus, > Hylotelephium, < Rhodiola, > Orostachys etc.”
THERE ARE A FEW LINKS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE FOR FURTHER READING.
Phedimus spurius (Syn. Sedum spurium) ‘John Creech’ on 5-31-17, #339-37.
I bought this nice Phedimus spurius ‘John Creech’ from Green Streets Market in 2017. This garden center always has a very nice selection of plants to choose from. This is where I also buy most of the seeds for the garden and where my dad did for many years before.
I planted it behind the old cast iron planter in the bed next to the foundation of my grandparent’s old home. The cast iron planter used to be a firebox in an old coal-fired furnace. A good friend of mine and I removed the furnace from a home in the early 1980’s and it has been in this spot every since.
Phedimus spurius (Syn. Sedum spurium) ‘John Creech’ on 6-18-17, #345-48.
USEFUL INFORMATION:
Family: Crassulaceae.
Origin: The Caucasus.
Zones: USDA Zones 3a-9b (-40 to 25° F).
Size: 1/4-1/2” or so tall x 12-24” or so wide.
Light: Sun to light shade.
Soil: Well-drained.
Water: Average/drought tolerant.
Phedimus spurius (Syn. Sedum spurium) ‘John Creech’ on 7-19-17, #357-70.
In my experience, Phedimus and Sedum do well in a slightly elevated bed or in pots where their soil can drain well. They do NOT like wet feet, especially during the winter months.
Phedimus spurius (Syn. Sedum spurium) ‘John Creech’ on 11-10-17, #391-8.
As with most “groundcover-type” Phedimus and Sedum, they prefer well-drained soil in full sun to light shade. In areas with very hot summers, it is best to grow them where they have some shade during the heat of the day. In this location, the Phedimus spurius ‘John Creech’ receives a good amount of sun all day until late afternoon as the sun passes over the foundation.
The upper leaves of Phedimus spurius are evergreen while the lower leaves are deciduous. So, as the cooler temperatures come, the lower leaves fall off…
<<<<2018>>>>
Phedimus spurius (Syn. Sedum spurium) ‘John Creech’ on 1-21-18, #404-6.
During the winter the leaves turn a nice burgundy color. January 2018 was very cold, even down to -10° F twice the first week. The Phedimus spurius ‘John Creech’ survived with flying colors…
Phedimus spurius (Syn. Sedum spurium) ‘John Creech’ on 3-9-18, #416-11.
As the temperatures started warming up and the day-length increased, its leaves started turning green once again.
Phedimus spurius (Syn. Sedum spurium) ‘John Creech’ on 4-8-18, #423-26.
After another month, it was looking very good!
Phedimus spurius (Syn. Sedum spurium) ‘John Creech’ on 4-13-18, #425-46.
Leaves along the stems are arranged in two rows, giving this plant one of its common names, Two-Row Stonecrop.
Phedimus spurius (Syn. Sedum spurium) ‘John Creech on 5-6-18, #436-51.
If allowed, it is no doubt Phedimus spurius ‘John Creech’ would spread quite well…
Phedimus spurius (Syn. Sedum spurium) ‘John Creech on 6-14-18, #459-66.
I guess I need to put a few pieces in other areas, huh…
Phedimus spurius (Syn. Sedum spurium) ‘John Creech buds on 6-14-18, #459-67.
I was happy to see it had one stem with flowers but maybe it will have more in 2019. I tried several times to get better photos, but they were all blurry. I guess it is camera shy…
Phedimus spurius (Syn. Sedum spurium) ‘John Creech on 6-28-18, #465-24.
Looking AWESOME on June 28!
Phedimus spurius (Syn. Sedum spurium) ‘John Creech on 7-29-18, #487-90.
Even though we have had a very hot and dry summer, the Phedimus spurius ‘John Creech’ has been a great performer. They like supplemental water during the hotter months, but sometimes I am busy or I have to water the plants whose life depends on it. Even though it has been sometimes over a week between waterings, all the Sedum in the bed behind the old foundation always does great.
Phedimus spurius (Syn. Sedum spurium) ‘John Creech on 8-26-18, #499-37.
The Phedimus spurius ‘John Creech’ is a pretty good spreader and has been sneaking into the planter.
<<<<2019>>>>
Phedimus spurius (Syn. Sedum spurium) ‘John Creech’ on 3-7-19, #551-18.
We have made it through the winter once again. It wasn’t near as cold as last winter and we had periods of nice days followed by several snows. As always, Phedimus spurius loses its lower leaves and retains the top leaves. Soon warmer temps will stay around and this clump will start growing once again.
Phedimus spurius (Syn. Sedum spurium) ‘John Creech’ on 4-7-19, #558-34.
By April 7 the Phedimus spurius ‘John Ceech’ was greening up nicely and growing new leaves.
Phedimus spurius (Syn. Sedum spurium) ‘John Creech’ on 5-5-19, #566-69.
This colony is living up to its reputation as a spreading groundcover for sure…
Phedimus spurius (Syn. Sedum spurium) ‘John Creech’ on 5-5-19, #566-70.
Trying to take over new territory in the cast iron planter…
Phedimus spurius (Syn. Sedum spurium) ‘John Creech’ on 5-25-19, #576-76.
What else can I say?
Phedimus spurius (Syn. Sedum spurium) ‘John Creech’ on 6-14-19, #589-14.
<<<<2020>>>>
Phedimus spurius (Syn. Sedum spurium) ‘John Creech’ on 3-30-20, #681-28.
As usual, the Phedimus spurius ‘John Creeck’ went through the winter with flying colors. On March 30, 2020, it was greening up nicely ready to take over the cast iron planter again.
<<<<2022>>>>
Phedimus spurius ‘John Creech’ on 3-20-22, #862-26.
I didn’t take any photos of the Phedimus spurius ‘John Creech’ in 2021 or 2023. I became fairly busy in 2022 so I only took one photo on March 20. Maybe I can do better in 2024.
It is always good to have plants that thrive in adverse conditions as well as when conditions are just right. This Pededimus spurius ‘John Creech’ performs well all summer long and has proved to be reliably cold hardy. I highly recommend this cultivar!
I will continue adding more photos and information as time goes by.
I hope you enjoyed this page and maybe found it useful. If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, I would like to hear from you. Please click on “like” if you visited this page. It helps us bloggers stay motivated. 🙂 You can check out the links below for further reading. The links take you directly to the genus and species of this plant. Some websites say Phedimus spurius and some say Sedum spurium…
The Belmont Rooster 
thanks for your creeping sedum dairy 👍🏻. What sort of temperatures cause this sedum to loose its leaves? How would you compare it to Sedum makinoi Tornado?
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Hello Wayne! As you can see in the photos, this Sedum loses most of its leaves when the temps get cooler. I have not grown Sedum makinoi ‘Tornado’. The only Sedum makinoi I have grows was ‘Salsa Verde’. I live in USDA zone 6a now and I don’t believe Sedum makinoi is cold hardy in this zone. So, I suppose hardiness is about the only comparison I can make. Sedum makinoi leaves are also MUCH smaller than Sedum spurium. I REALLY liked the Sedum makinoi ‘Salsa Verde’ when I lived in Mississippi. VERY NICE! Thanks for the comment!
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