Plant This Succulent For A Pretty Ground Cover That Butterflies Will Flock To

It's hard to beat a plant that serves more than one purpose. You need a ground cover, for example, but you'd also like a plant that will attract butterflies and other pollinators. And wouldn't it be great if this plant were low-maintenance with a bunch of other positive attributes? Sedum "Lime Zinger" will grace your landscape with its red-tinged, lime green leaves, and in late summer, gorgeous star-shaped pink flowers to draw those pollinators. The perennial succulent "Lime Zinger" cultivar is part of the Sedum SunSparkler® Group bred by Chris Hansen. Members of the group are part of the 400-species Sedum genus and are sometimes known by the common name of many sedums, stonecrop. 

Sedum 'Lime Zinger' has a heck of a lot going for it and is a great ground cover choice with its slow spreading habit. As with 'Angelina' sedum, you can help keep weeds at bay with this succulent ground cover because both cultivars form thick mats that suppress weeds. This succulent is also drought tolerant, salt tolerant, rabbit and deer-resistant, and happy in poor and clay soils. Sedum "Lime Zinger" is even a candidate for the list of beautiful ground covers that are great for preventing soil erosion.

Sedum "Lime Zinger" is hardy in USDA zones 4 to 9. Plant from nursery pots or plugs in well-draining, grainy or sandy soil in full sun. During the first six weeks, when the roots are establishing themselves and for the first season, water at least once a week. After that, you should not need to water except during prolonged dry spells. Don't water if the soil is not dry. 

Your sedum "Lime Zinger" should need minimal fertilizer. Pruning is likely not needed, but you can pinch back stems in the spring to encourage more growth, as well as extract dead stems and leaves. Aside from slugs and snails, this sedum doesn't suffer from pests and diseases.

Along with the full sedum SunSparkler® group, "Lime Zinger" is patented and illegal to propagate, although home growers have little risk of prosecution unless they sell the propagated patented plant. Learn more about why propagating plants could cause you a legal headache.