Sedum ID please

Nollie

This is growing my mum’s garden. She says it has been there 40 years, but I think she used to have a hydrangea there and is getting confused. The large flower heads look much darker at a distance, less raspberry... 

Dovefromabove

Ice plant, used to be called Sedum spectabile but now it's called https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/159311/Hylotelephium-spectabile/Details

Great source of nectar for butterflies and bees in the late summer and autumn.

Nollie

Hi @Dovefromabove, great, thanks, so no specific cultivar, just the bog standard Sedum Spectable? Sorry, can’t get on with Hylotelephium as a name! This one is definitely more burgundy than the pink shown in your link, do the colours vary?

Dovefromabove

They do get darker as they age ... have a look at 'Autumn Joy'.  Mine is quite dark at the moment. 

I also have Sedum 'Abbeydore' which is quite dark, but the flower heads aren't as big as in your pic.

wild edges

Nollie said:

so no specific cultivar?

Very hard to tell apart generally. There are species, sub-species and hybrids and all have very common features. The teeth on the leaves look a bit pointed for spectabile so it could be one of the hybrids like Autumn Joy/Herbsefreude. You'd need to dissect a flower for further clues though.

Dovefromabove

This is my Autumn Joy at the moment. 

Excuse the quick pic ... it’s raining out there 🌧 

Fairygirl

Yours is remarkably slug damage free @Dovefromabove
Mine have got virtually no leaves at all. 

There's one called Brilliant - but I think it's a bit paler than Autumn Joy.

Dovefromabove

It’s in the front border where the lupins and a hosta also seem to survive unscathed @Fairygirl ... I have found a big toad lurking in that bed a few times 😊 

Nollie

Thanks everyone, and for the pic @Dovefromabove, it does look quite Autumn Joy-ish. Probably is that, as I don’t think there is a massive selection at mum’s local garden centre so it’s bound to be one fairly well-known.