Variegated Orange or Russian Stonecrop

Phedimus kamtschaticus ‘Variegatum’

FED-ih-mis  kam-SHAY-ti-kus

SYN.

Sedum kamtschaticum ‘Variegatum’

SEE-dum  kam-SHAY-ti-kum

ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY AWARD OF GARDEN MERIT

BACK AND FORTH from Phedimus to Sedum and Sedum to Phedimus how many times? Almost every time I update this page I have to change the names. It has stayed Phedimus kamtschaticus since I updated in 2019, so hopefully, it will say that way…

Synonyms of Phedimus kamtschaticus (14) (UPDATED ON 12-15-23 from Plants of the World Online): Aizopsis florifera (Praeger) P.V.Heath (2001), Aizopsis kamtschatica (Fisch.) Grulich (1984), Aizopsis kurilensis (Vorosch.) S.B.Gontch. (1999), Aizopsis takesimensis (Nakai) P.V.Heath (2001), Phedimus florifer (Praeger) ‘t Hart (1995), Phedimus takesimensis (Nakai) ‘t Hart (1995), Sedum aizoon subsp. kamtschaticum (Fisch.) Fröd. (1931), Sedum eooacombianum Praeger (1921), Sedum floriferum Praeger (1918), Sedum kamtschaticum Fisch. (1841), Sedum kamtschaticum f. angustifolium Kom. (1929), Sedum kurilense Vorosch. (1965), Sedum sikokianum subsp. kurilense (Vorosch.) Vorosch. (1985), Sedum takesimense Nakai (1919)

Phedimus kamtschaticus (Fisch. & C.A.Mey.) ’t Hart is the accepted scientific name of this species of Phedimus. It was named and described as such by Henk ’t Hart and Urs Eggli in H.’t Hart & U.Eggli (eds.), Evolution and Systematics of the Crassulaceae in 1995. It was first named as described as Sedum kamtschaticum by Friedrich Ernst Ludwig von (Fedor Bogdanovic) Fischer and Carl Anton (Andreevič) Meyer in Index Seminum in 1841. 

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…

“For the plant now called Phedimus kamtschaticus :

It was described as a Sedum species in 1841 and has been considered a Sedum species for a very long time. 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.

So now the correct name of a group of plants with flat leaves which are often serrate or dentate is Phedimus. That means it is the other way round: The accepted name is Phedimus kamtschaticus and the earlier name S. kamtschaticum is a synonym.”

THERE ARE A FEW LINKS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE FOR FURTHER READING.

I bought this 6-pack of Sedum kamtschaticum ‘Variegatum’ from Lowe’s in Greenville, Mississippi in 2012 while living at the mansion in Leland. I was negotiating the sale of the mansion and it was fall, so I decided not to put them in the ground.

I spaced the plants out in a large pot and kept them in the east sunroom with the other plants for the winter. If temperatures permitted, I moved them to the 40’ long front porch.

After I sold the mansion, dad asked me to move back to the family farm in mid-Missouri. Even though I gave up a couple hundred pots, I made the move in February 2013. I brought most of the cacti and succulents and many other plants I didn’t want to give away including the Phedimus kamtschaticus ‘Variegatum’. 

<<<<2016>>>>

While many of the succulents did amazingly well for the remainder of the winter in the basement, this plant was not one of them. I almost lost it completely to the point I didn’t even take photos again until 2016… For some reason, it has been a battle with this plant even though the non-variegated Sedum kamtschaticum has continued to do very well.

It did better in 2016 and even spread a little.

<<<<2017>>>>

In 2017 I moved it to the cast iron planter with the Sempervivum ‘Killer’. I also moved the Cylindropuntia imbricata to this planter.

USEFUL INFORMATION:
Family: Crassulaceae.
Origin: Japan, Kamchatka, Kuril Island.
Zones: USDA Zones 4a-9b (-30 to 25° F).
Size: 6-12” tall.
Light: Full to part sun.
Soil: Well-drained.
Water: Average, drought tolerant.
Flowers: Yellow.

I really like this variegated form of Phedimus kamtschaticus. I am just not sure why it hasn’t taken off and done well. It has been in an area where it has full sun, well, most of the time, and the soil is very well-drained.

All Phedimus/Sedum I am familiar with need well-draining soil and should not be in any low areas where water may not drain well. Try planting them in a raised bed or an area that is elevated. They do well in planters where their stems can trail over the sides. This species is not one that really needs to be brought inside for the winter, but they may do OK in a sunroom or greenhouse.

They are drought tolerant but appreciate regular watering during the growing period. In many areas, they will receive spring rains, but in the summer, as with most perennials and annuals, they need supplemental water. As temperatures start to get cooler and day length decreases, you should stop watering.

<<<<2018>>>>

Luckily it survived the winter again…

It started greening up…

It started growing new stems…

The next thing I knew, it was not only growing…

It has buds! It’s first flowers since 2012!

Despite several years of near-death, this plant has come back to life and after such a cold winter.

AWESOME!!!

Not only is it doing so much better and going to flower, it has this weird stem of a different color. I am debating whether or not to remove it and see if it will offset more stems this color. Well, maybe I better not bother it since it is doing so well.

It is very good to see this plant doing so well.

The star-shaped yellow flowers are very interesting.

 

Strange how much bigger the leaves grow on the stems that did not flower…

Still doing well and looking good despite the extreme heat. I have been watering every few days if we don’t have rain. Sometimes I don’t have time to water all the plants and there have been times it has been over a week before the Sedum gets watered. It doesn’t bother them one bit…

I intended to remove the lighter-colored stem to see if I could get it to produce a clump of its own. But, time has gone by and I didn’t get it done. I don’t think it would be a good idea to do it now when cooler temps and decreasing day length could be a problem. Hopefully, it will return like this next spring and I will have another chance.

<<<<2019>>>>

Well, we made it through the winter although somewhat blushed. It will soon regain its variegated color and start growing. Hopefully, it will spread more and the stem with the different color of leaves will also multiply.

The Phedimus kamtschaticus ‘Variegatum’ appears to be coming back better than it has for a long time.

Growing and looking good!

It even had a few buds when I took the photo on April 20.

Even the stem with more yellow has returned so maybe I can take a cutting this year.

I am running out of words so you may just have to look at the photos for a while…

 

 

 

Fowers began to open when the above photo was taken on May 19.

LOOKING GREAT!!!

Then when I took the above photo on June 1 I noticed a lot of the petals have fallen off…

Now almost all were gone by the 14th…

After this clump flowered so well it started going downhill… Hopefully, it will survive the winter and we can begin again…

<<<<2020>>>>

Well, we made it through another winter. When the above photo was taken on 3-30-20, the Sedum, I mean Phedimus kamtschaticus ‘Variegatum’ is slowly emerging…

I was fairly busy over the summer in 2020 so I didn’t take a lot of plant photos. The Phedimus kamtschaticus ‘Variegata’ hung in there. I hope it returns in 2021…

<<<<2021>>>>>

Well, the Phedimus spurius ‘John Creech’ continues trying to take over the planter where the Phedimus kamtschaticus ‘Variegatum’ is. It hasn’t done well since it flowered in 2019. I may need to move it to a new location…

I will continue to add more photos and progress 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.

FOR FURTHER READING:
PLANTS OF THE WORLD ONLINE (GENUS/SPECIES)
WIKIPEDIA (GENUS)
DAVE’S GARDEN
INTERNATIONAL CRASSULACEAE NETWORK
ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY
PERENNIALS.COM