The stonecrop (Sedum) owes its unflattering name to its foliage, which, like all succulents, is thick and beautifully shiny. We clarify. Whether the reptiles, which are not very appreciated because of their good appetite, also eat the leaves of the sedum.
Do snails eat the sedum?
Nudibranchs prefer soft green anddon't like to eat thick,hardleaves. That's why they care about both the low-growing varieties that are often used as ground cover as well as the high sedums that form magnificent flower umbels.
Does feeding damage to the leaves of the stonecrop come from snails?
Snailseateven thennot on the sedum,when they can hardly find any other food. They are usually black weevils that gnaw cove-like depressions in the fleshy foliage of the succulents between May and September. However, the perennials cope with this feeding damage quite well.
More dangerous for the plants are the larvae that live underground and feed on the root hairs and the woody parts of the storage organs. Consistent control of the beetles living on the sedum is therefore recommended.
Tip
The sedum is valuable for bees and insects
The flowering period of the stonecrop begins in July and extends well into October. That's why the nectar- and pollen-rich false umbels offer a richly laid table for bees, bumblebees, butterflies and hoverflies at a time when many other food plants have already flowered. The white sedum also serves as a food plant for the caterpillars of some rare butterfly species such as the red apollo.
