Photo courtesy of Walters Gardens, Inc.

For a rich blanket of color in those hot, sunny areas, try Sedum ‘Firecracker’ from breeder Chris Hansen who also brought us ‘Dazzleberry’ and ‘Lime Zinger’. This is Chris’ improvement over his previous red-foliage introduction, ‘Cherry Tart’. Very dense growing, well-branched selection that won’t split open in summer. It puts on a strong show of burgundy red color all season long, with only the tiniest new leaves emerging mint green. Plant ‘Firecracker’ en masse in the landscape as a colorful, weed-suppressing ground cover and enjoy its vibrant pink flowers in late summer to early fall as an added bonus.