Mystery Plant 1

This photo was taken by Linda West of North Carolina.It started as a seed, stays outside through the winter months, dies back in winter, comes back to life in spring. The plant is fairly drought tolerant. Flowers resemble those of a Delosperma.

Steve Hurlburt wrote: Hi Wayne; Looking at the picture it looks like "Spirit" sedum. Goes dormant in winter here in the northeast. The flowers are yellow and blooms in June here in New York. Great site by the way. Steve H. Operations Manager Garden Galleries Inc. -----

My reply: Hi Steve. Thanks for your help with the mystery sedum. I have never heard the name Spirit Sedum used. So I got online to see what other sites say. Many of them cite Sedum selskianum (which I doubt because it has very hairy stems, an unusual trait with sedums.One site (B & T world Seeds) says Sedum Spirit is Sedum Ellacombianum which looks very much like the variety in the mystery photo. Thank you very much for your input.

I sent your photo to the expert on sedums , Ray Stephenson of England . He wrote the book, Sedum, Cultivated Stonecrops, currently the best reference book on sedums in the world. He thinks that your plant looks like a Sedum kamtschaticum or hybridum. It is so hard to tell from just foliage. A picture of blossoms would cinch it.-----

Margrit Bischofberger from Switzerland, an expert on Crassulaceae, wrote: your mystery plant has leaves like a Phedimus - could the lady send a photo of the flowers?