In a word - no. I dont' know what the deal is with this plant. It gets to a certain size and then the leaves begin to curl and look funky. Its planted right next to Frosty Morn, Dragon's Blood, Morchen, Neon and Autumn Joy so I don't think its the soil. I like the photos but for some reason it begins to decline each year at mid-season. Would like to hear if others have the same experience.

I like it just fine. Never had any problems with it. I have it in two different spots, one five hours of morning sun and one in ful sun. The one in morning sun stays a bit darker in foilage than the full sun one. Both stand sturdy and do not open in the center and I do not pinch them.

I really like Matrona. No problems here.

I like mine, though I do pinch it back in the spring, or it flops open late in the year. Very hardy and reliable for me. I noticed the same thing color-wise as justmetoo. The one I have in morning sun has a darker over-all color than the ones I have in the hot afternoon sun. Both look good, just different.
Just came from town, and got 3 Postmans' Pride sedum from the 75% off rack at Lowe's for $1.22 each. Don't know a lot about that one, but appears to be pretty tall, and a nice, dark color. They had gotten leggy and floppy, so they were marked down. Cheap plants, and cuttings material....cool!
Brenda

I've only tried Matrona once. I bought small pots of it at the same time I bought Sedum alboroseum Mediovariegatum & Frosty Morn in Spring 2004. The idea was to use the sedums as a repeat front of the bed planting & vary the color combos somewhat in a large half circle bed near the house.

Matrona died after a couple of months, just curled up and died, no idea why, one plant after the other (5). Frosty Morn was (& is) a weak grower but has survived and is still in the bed, looks stunning with a variegated grass & vibrant purples. Mediovariegatum was & is a very sturdy grower and blends well with the yellow, creams, & blue (purple-blue) plantings.

I don't know if Matrona was attacked by pests, uprooted or eaten from underneath by rodents, or received too much moisture, but it was an expensive loss and I never bothered to try them again. It was planted between the other two sedums in very similar conditions, seemed to be doing well, & then died in mid-summer.

I've tried planting Matrona three times (in different places) and every time it died. It seemed to get some kind of rot. Purple Emperor did fine.

Juliet

Matrona does well now in my garden. I had to try it in three spots before it was happy. I did have rot and limp the first try but it is in a well drained area that gets little water. I just think this one does not like wet feet at all. And it needs good drainage. MXK it is a tall one at 2ft before flowering.

I LOVE Matrona--and have had no problems with it here at all.

Matrona has bigger leaves which I like. I think it would stand out more than Vera Jameson especially if you are planting it around plants with fine foliage.
I haven't seen any curling leaves alyrics. Hope it's not something that would spread to your other sedums.

I have Matrona and Vera Jameson in the same bed (along with a bunch of other sedums) and my Vera gets quite purple by this time of year. Both are in full sun, lean soil. Matrona foliage is more purple/gray in color, and a much more substantial plant (hence the varietal name). I have it next to Physocarpus "Summer Wine" - the burgandy stems look great with the burgandy foliage of the Physocarpus. No problems with curling leaves or flopping.

-Caroline

maybe you're right about moisture and fertile soil. Don't know. It seems like soil where all my others sedums are thriving would be fine for Matrona but that doesn't seem to be the case. I might propagate a few pieces to try it elsewhere but its not really on the top of my list. I did use a pine based mulch last year and I wonder if the soil is too acid for the taste of sedums, which I would think might like a little more alkalinity.

Matrona is very happy in my yard. I do pinch it back because I find it opens up in the middle. I think I have less sun than ideal in the location it is in and my soil is clay.

I used to have it in full sun location and didn't have to pinch it. It has very pretty coloring throughout the season. I do have to say that Purple Emperor is catching up to the Matrona in my affections though. :-)

>Do we like 'Matrona' sedum?

We sure do. Trouble-free, wonderful foliage, no splaying. Mine is in a slightly raised area with impeccable drainage and lean soil. The foliage color on some of the darker ones may be more showy, but Matrona is an outstanding plant.

Thanks for all the replies! I ended up buying (3) Matrona over the weekend. They're going to be planted next to a grouping of lamb's ear (a good lot of which needs to be removed, holy moly does that stuff take over!), I think the foliage contrast will be just what that spot needs, and I'm lacking a fall bloomer in that area.

Matrona was next to Black Jack on the bench, and I really did prefer the foliage of Matrona. Sedum foliage is "heavy" to my eye, and the very dark Black Jack foliage was just too heavy and foreboding for my taste.

Anyway, the area gets a good amount of sun, though not a full 8 hours (probably 5-6 hours of afternoon sun). I figure if the lamb's ear are thriving (thriving isn't a stong enough word....) the sedum will do just fine there.

I like Matrona sedum. I started mine from cuttings I got from another gardener and they quickly grew into large plants. I also like Autumn Joy, spectabile and Purple Emperor although Purple Emperor doesn't seem to get as tall as the others. I haven't been very pleased with Frosty Morn. It seems to grow thin spindly stems and keeps trying to revert back to plain green. :(

- Steve

Despite my problems with Matrona (detailed above) I just bought three plants of Maestro, a sport of Matrona. I shouldn't go into nurseries in the summer!! Fortunately it wasn't too hot yesterday, since I had to move half the plants in my garden to fit them into a nice dry spot (something I don't have much of in my garden).

Maestro is supposed to be a bit shorter than Matrona (only 18 inches tall). Right now they have a fairly deep blue-purple color (with some green undertones) which is their summer color (supposedly more blue-green-grey earlier in the season) and very purplish stems. Really very attractive with the same big thick looking leaves as Matrona. I planted them with some new Summer Sky Echinaceas which also climbed into my shopping cart.