Plant This Beautiful Ground Cover For Vibrant Fall Color (It's Almost Impossible To Kill)

A good ground cover can do more than simply fill an empty patch of garden. Low-growing plants are perfect for limiting erosion and preventing pesky weeds from taking over. Choose one with striking seasonal color, and you can also give your landscape a major visual boost. Of course, you don't want a ground cover that isn't worth the effort or will create more work than it saves you. For a rugged and resilient mat-forming perennial that can handle tough conditions while delivering vibrant fall color, look no further than the gorgeous and uniquely named 'Dragon's Blood' sedum (Sedum spurium 'Dragon's Blood ').

With a height of only about 6 inches and a spread of around 2 feet, 'Dragon's Blood' sedum is the perfect ground cover for dry and drought-prone gardens where other plants might struggle. It can even handle poor soil. But its real autumn showstopper is its foliage, which takes on brilliant shades of red as temperatures cool. Because it's evergreen in milder climates and also produces cheerful pink or red flowers in summer, it's ideal for keeping your garden vibrant no matter the season or the challenges. 

When the flowers are in bloom, you won't be the only one to love this showstopper. Its blossoms will also be a huge hit with pollinators like butterflies. And unlike some ground covers that can quickly be nibbled away by rabbits and deer, your sedum should be fine around the hungry herbivores. The combination of toughness, low-growing habit, and seasonal color makes it an especially useful choice for a garden that looks good without constant maintenance.

Hardy in zones 3 through 9, this plant is the perfect addition to water-wise gardens and xeriscapes. As long as you plant your 'Dragon's Blood' sedum in a well-draining patch of earth and give it plenty of sun, it's close to impossible to kill. Like other succulents, however, they don't tolerate overwatering or consistently soggy soil. If it doesn't drain well, consider adding amendments like pumice or sand. Compost can also improve its structure, but in general, you shouldn't need to fertilize your sedum for it to thrive. If you live near a coastline or are trying to cultivate an area near a street where road salt is often used, you'll be happy to know that this cultivar is extremely tolerant of salt, too. In other words, a little roadside neglect isn't likely to faze it.

When using your 'Dragon's Blood' sedum as a ground cover, you can initially put your plants about a foot apart. They should eventually spread and form a dense mat. Give them room to fill in rather than planting them too closely, and you'll eventually have a carpet of foliage that helps cover bare soil and crowd out weeds. Make sure you grow it alongside other plants that thrive in similarly sunny and dry conditions. Other types of sedums like 'Autumn Joy' can be great companions, as can species of yarrow and thyme.