Mainly because it's not necessary. Most of the conversations that included vermiculite in the gritty mix occurred during a short length of time during which there was one lady growing succulents who was convinced she needed more water retention & she couldn't get it by varying the ingredients. In reality, the small volume of vermiculite doesn't help the soil's rewetability. What really happens when the soil is very dry is, the Turface fraction never becomes hydrophobic unless it's coated with algae (usually from using organic fertilizers/soil amendments and lots of water). The Turface absorbs water instantly. no matter how dry the soil is, and enough water vapor diffuses into the bark fraction to eliminate its tendency toward hydrophobia. Al

definitely not lime zinger ... looking at my title... lime was way off ... my bad .... i guess i was thinking more like lemon lime soda... aka the color of mountain dew ... not 7up clear ... what a nightmare... lol ... link sure makes angelina seem apropos .... though i am surprised it is a named cultivar.. rather than a species invasive type weed... i mean any piece will root ... even if left on the driveway for most of the summer ... crikey .... i spent a few minutes going thru hundreds of pix.. seeing if i had a pic of it under some plant worth taking a pic of ... lol... but alas.. not so .. any other guesses??? someday the snow will melt .... ken Here is a link that might be useful: link

I'm not familiar with too many different varieties, although I love the groundcover sedums. I guess I just fell in love with the first one I saw and never looked into them too much further. You seem to know more about them than I do, so I hesitate to make a recommendation, but I guess I will add my two cents! That first one I saw and loved was kamtschaticum Weihenstephaner Gold. I started covering a hot, dry, sunny, poorly-soiled slope with that, little by little. Then, by mistake, I bought a dozen straight-up kamtshaticums, which I actually like better and have decided to use to finish the slope. On the slope on the other side of the driveway (this slope fronts my entire road frontage, cut in half by my driveway), I thought I would switch things up a bit and tried planting John Creech, which I really, really love. Love the tight little swirls of foliage and I like the pink blooms better than the yellow of the kamschaticum. But John doesn't seem to like me, lol. Or at least, he doesn't like my slope. I can't seem to get him established strongly there. So I am going to probably use kamtschaticum there as well. By the way, I'm still looking for a source for bulk orders, if anyone knows of a reputable place. I will say that both kamtshaticums seem to spread fairly slowly - seem to be clumpers rather than spreaders, so if that is what youmean by well-behaved, these will fit the bill - I personally wish they would spread more quickly! The angelina, while quite beautiful, l've heard to be very vigorous. Not sure if anyone can confirm/deny that report. Dee

Post this on the Perennial Forum. tj