Hi all!

I was hoping we could have a general thread for SunSparkler sedum reviews here! Mainly because I'm tired of searching for each individual one!

I only have a few, here are my reviews:

Sunsparkler "Firecracker", so far, amazing! It overwintered beautifully. I have yet to see blooms, as it was just planted last year, but I really love this one. I am wondering what the difference is between "Wildfire" and "Firecracker is? If anyone has any intel, let me know!

Sunsparkler "Angelinas Teacup", this is a smaller version of Angelina, which is said to keep a bright green color all year. I really like this one also! I do think it likes some water, I had a clump in a gravely cactus berm that was not very happy....but, it is showing up this spring despite water neglect, so I think I just need to water it more.

Sunsparkler "Lime Zinger", this one is super cute! It bloomed a bit briefly last summer, a nice medium pink color. It seems to be quite drought tolerant, and is doing well in the above mentioned cactus gravel hill.

I'd love it if you would share your Sunsparkler reviews here! Pros, cons, companion plants, or any thoughts would be very much appreciated.

Hello! I have had most of them before (Most sunsparklers tend to be hylotelepheniums) -- I do not currently own much because I did not move much of my clumping hylos.

To answer your question:

Hylos (especially purples, such as sunsparklers) are hard to identify because they have subtle differences

'Wildfire' is variegated -- but you might own the reverted version as with hylos. 'Firecracker' is not variegated.
Wildfire is much more red and if you were to pluck a leaf off, it would probably be a solid red/vvermillion (assuming it is reverted). If not, the two sides would be light pink/cream/white. 'Firecracker' on the other hand is not variegated, but has bi-colored leavves. If you were to pluck a leaf, it would have a blue/blue-purple area closer to the stem, and redder/purple/violet coloring on the outside, away from the stem.

If possible, could you send a picture of a leaf(s) from each plant you want to identify, and a full picture?

Here is a review of Sunsparkler "Firecracker" (Clumping Hylotelephenium)
Pros:
- Bicolored leaves
- Intense Color
- Great blooms
- Stays tidy
-Looks okay in winter (does not die back fully)
- Widely available

Cons:
- Spreads slower
- Mono-colored flowers (Do not contrast as much to the foilage depending on conditions)

This plant has only bloomed for me once and it was okay... I do not like it as much compared to other more crazy hylotelepheniums. I would probably pair this with variegated h. sieboldii, lime twister, angelina. I would have this plant in midground with foilage to cushion it.

I have almost all of them. The only one that I don't have is 'Cosmic Comet' though I do have it ordered. 'Blue elf' seems to be doing well for me this year. Last year I tried twice and it failed both times. 'Everyone loves my 'Blue Pearl' I love that it adds vertical appeal. I'm not really sure 'cherry tart' and 'firecracker' look that different.

sedumzz said:Hello! I have had most of them before (Most sunsparklers tend to be hylotelepheniums) -- I do not currently own much because I did not move much of my clumping hylos.

To answer your question:

Hylos (especially purples, such as sunsparklers) are hard to identify because they have subtle differences

'Wildfire' is variegated -- but you might own the reverted version as with hylos. 'Firecracker' is not variegated.
Wildfire is much more red and if you were to pluck a leaf off, it would probably be a solid red/vvermillion (assuming it is reverted). If not, the two sides would be light pink/cream/white. 'Firecracker' on the other hand is not variegated, but has bi-colored leavves. If you were to pluck a leaf, it would have a blue/blue-purple area closer to the stem, and redder/purple/violet coloring on the outside, away from the stem.

If possible, could you send a picture of a leaf(s) from each plant you want to identify, and a full picture?

Thank you for the clarification! I only have the non variegated "firecracker" planted, but have just received a few of "wildfire" from HCG, I was confused about the differences, now I know! I kind of like solids because I think they provide more dramatic contrasts. I will post photos in a few weeks of the two.

ndmpkt13 said:I have almost all of them. The only one that I don't have is 'Cosmic Comet' though I do have it ordered. 'Blue elf' seems to be doing well for me this year. Last year I tried twice and it failed both times. 'Everyone loves my 'Blue Pearl' I love that it adds vertical appeal. I'm not really sure 'cherry tart' and 'firecracker' look that different.

I just received a few "blue pearl"s in the mail today! Nice to hear that you are fond of them! Can you post pics of yours?

i loveeeeee blue pearls.
They are more tolerant to ovverfertilizing (Or its just that the other hylotelepheniums havven't been fertilized) because Max likes to use them as his "bathroom". I didn't bring them to the new house either.

Im visiting my parents this week, but here is a picture of of my front sedum bed from about a month ago. The 'Blue Pearl' is in the back.

Thank you so much everyone! And Nathaniel, that is such a sweet colorful group you have! I'll have to post pics of the few that I have soon!

I love 'Blue Pearl' and it has done well for me in several locations. Full sun, part sun and fast draining soil and more compact soil.
Half day of sun

Half day of sun

Half day of sun

Full sun


I had them all, but did not bring them all due to lack of space in the new garden.

Those are beautiful Lynn! I really love Blue Pearl!

Heidi you won't regret growing 'Blue Pearl'.

Hi All, I just acquired a couple of sunsparklers and want to grow them indoors as potted specimens in bathrooms for color. I would love to hear about your experience/success with this. FYI, I have window light in the two locations I'm considering.

Thank you

I wouldnt really grow them indoors year round, because they go dormant... They would be OK for a while
You might want to try other sedum, such as petrosedum, because they don't really go dormant.

Hi Patti. I agree with Alex, non of the hardy types of sedum do well indoors year round. If you have window boxes (outdoors) you could enjoy them from indoors.
There are many colorful and interesting tender succulents that would do well indoors.

HeidiColorado said: Hi all!

I was hoping we could have a general thread for SunSparkler sedum reviews here! Mainly because I'm tired of searching for each individual one!


I'd love it if you would share your Sunsparkler reviews here! Pros, cons, companion plants, or any thoughts would be very much appreciated.

Intro: I get plants at Lowes because I am not a fan of shipping costs. I also like to see and feel the plants before I buy them. So must of my sunsparkler sedums are whatever they had at Lowes (I live in a small town and have only Lowes to choose from).

I have sunspakler Lime zinger (like you) and also sunsparkler Cherry Tart, and Sunsparkler Dazzleberry.

I live in a desert environment (zone 7 without the water) and (so far) have found that Artemesia like Powis Castle is a beautiful companion plant. it is gray, tall and ferny. It can stand semi-shade as well, and in this environment, I need to plant many plants in semi-shade. As companions, I also have Hummingbird mint (my favorite is Tango which is orange and pink together) and a short type of Russian Sage. I have tons of German Iris. Many Dwarf Isis (grown as a ground cover), but most have had their flowers and are just background green plants by late spring. I also have roses. Often just simple natural roses. Somehow roses do well in deserts. Other plants are Hellen Von Stein Staches Byzantium (big ear lambs ear), Knifofia, dwarf prickly pears, and sempervivums. I am trying ice plants this year 2023 as well).

The cherry pie is deep cherry red by fall. Very nice next to the grey green or lime green plants. The Dazzleberry is a smokey blue-green-grey. I am not sure which I like the most. I made the Cherry Pie a "star" while I put the Dazzleberry in the rear, but I wonder if I was just underwhelmed when first seeing it. The color is very chameleon like. Lime Zinger is Lime Zinger. It is more underwhelming. It has a little edge of red that can be forgotten. It is a great space filler but It did not hold up as far as being a game changer. I also have tiny two row sedum called "Purple carpet" which fills in holes in the garden. I'm more impressed by how fast it covers an area (thus keeps weeds out) than its color. It's an 8/10. In more shady areas the leaves remain rather small, and where more sun hits them they get larger about tiny fingernail size. I bought a flat of 72 tiny plugs from an Etsy spot. Well worth it if you do not mind 20$ shipping cost. It took forever to plant the plugs.

Here are some pictures:
Cherry tart gets much redder.

I did not like sunsparkler Dazzleberry at first, but it is growing on me. It is a kind of intermediate blue gray. Maybe a "plum" color.

My sunsparklers are comming out of dormancy.

Katy, they look very happy and healthy. Soil and amount of sun can make a big difference in color for the Sunsparklers. I love them.

it'd be fun to have all of them together. I've done it before, but not allll of them
It would be fun to see all the variations in form and texture, but might be a pain to keep them separate (some are sports of other cultivars, some of the variegated ones might revert), but of course, it could be prevented with regular maitenance