Help with Sedums

I'm not a beginner gardner, but I ain't no expert. I have had 'Autumn Joy' Sedums in my garden the past few years. They come back wonderfully in the Spring, I cut them back some to compact the growth and things are going great....until....

About this time of the year I notice that they wilt and start rotting from the bottom up. By the time several rotted leaves fall off, I notice it and then it's too late. They receive lots of sun and enough water (not too much from me). What's going wrong?? Could the soil be too rich (planted in decent dirt...not ammended or fertilized)? Disease? I've tried to do research on the internet, but I really can't find any answers. Anyone have a general idea what's going on before I rip these out from frustration?? If this question has been answered in another thread, please point me the way... :)

If I remember, I'll try to take a picture tomorrow and post it...if I can get a decent shot.

My first suspect would be too much water, although a picture would help. I'd check up on your watering--right before the next time you were planning to water, stick your finger down a couple inches into the soil near their roots and see how wet it feels. If it's still feeling wet, then they're likely getting too much water. The only part that doesn't fit is that they come back every spring--if they were rotting from too much water I would expect they'd die and not come back.

Too much water is what I'm thinking also so I'll check the next time I water or when it's gonna rain. I did get out and get some pictures....and I did notice new growth on some of the plants. In the Spring, I'm tempted to uproot at least one of them and plant in a container with alittle more sand just to see if the soil is too rich...don't know yet.

Now the picture I posted is a plant that's been in place at least 3 years now. It gets the west/south sun in the later afternoon up until evening so it gets plenty of sun. It looks pretty pathetic and what you can't see is the stems look soft and mushy. :(

Hey Little Lamb...
I've never gardened in your neck of the woods but I've found that where I live on the tundra (upstate NY) some sedum don't do well in a lot of sun. you have more than I do and hotter so maybe putting it where is gets morning sun and cooler afternoons might help.
?
best wishes...

meadowsweet2: Thank you for the reply... :) Coastal weather is nice if like the hot/humid days...which is so not me...heehee. I think I'm definately gonna experiment with my sedum in the Spring. I'm gonna put some in containers and see if they do better with alittle more shade. The sedums that take the morning/early afternoon sun look better than the ones facing the South (which gets beat down with sun). I'm determined to make them grow...but we'll see... :)

littlelamb