sometimes I   have a hard time coming up with the right words to make a plant come to life in a profile the way  it does in the garden.
sedum ‘october daphne’ is like that , really it should just leap off he screen and grab you by the shoulders , look you square in the eye and say “PLANT ME”

It is a beauty season long with nicely scalloped leaves that emerge  toward the bluish side of green with a graceful arching habit.  It tolerated the dry conditions here both in the ground and in the two un-watered containers I had it in like a champ. 

When it started to bloom I found the bright two-toned  pink flowers just divine and a delightful change from the more salmony -pink of some of its family members.

but boy oh boy as the temperatures cooled around here was I ever smitten with this plant.

The edges of the leaves took on a distinct reddish hue, the flower color intensified x 1000

then, as night time temps dropped even lower, the leaves  seemed to glow, an electric orange pink at  a time when the garden can look quite dull and muted.

the glow on this plant in october is eye catching to say the least!

I have this  planted in the pink border at the very edge , as well as in two previously mentioned containers, ( a  cement basket. and   an old wheelbarrow) .

I grow over 40 different sedum ( or in their new genera;hylotelephium,petrosedum and phedimus) and I love them all. Most thrive in the dry hot sun here, though there are many that will tolerate shadier and much wetter conditions making them all super easy to grow. I have been experimenting with different combinations of them  in containers so I can ease up on the watering during the height of summer.  A number of my favorites  have  smaller leaved and are very  interesting close up, and I place those together in flat hypertufa or metal troughs , some are quite large and serve as filler or color contrast with other plants. But ‘october daphne’ is so stunning it can stand on its own ,  a true plant of merit for any New Egland garden.

as an aside I just felt the need to point out this curiosity .There is a series of monographs (books written on a single plant genus) put out by Timber Press  called The Plant Lover’s Guides. I have most of them, so when writing this of course went to the one called “The Plant Lover’s Guide to Sedums” to see what it had to say. The description is ok, although not as enthusiastic as I would expect,  but the accompanying photo ( just one) is this.

hmmmmm, would you buy this plant based on that ? I certainly would have skimmed right over that entry . I wish they had included one like this