Sweet Alyssum
Lobularia maritima. BRASSICACEAE (CRUCIFERAE).
Planting and Growing Sweet Alyssum
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow sweet alyssum in the accompanying table’s tabs:
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- Flowers, foliage, and root structure of sweet alyssum
- Plant hardiness and growing conditions for sweet alyssum
- Season of bloom and planting time for sweet alyssum
- When, how deep, and where to plant sweet alyssum
- How to plant sweet alyssum
- Watering, fertilizing, care, and pests or diseases of sweet alyssum
- Landscape and container uses of sweet alyssum
- Comments about sweet alyssum and its features
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Growing Sweet Alyssum
Many cultivars of low, branching, spreading, fine-textured perennial herbs, to 1 ft. (30 cm) tall. Smooth, gray green, lance-shaped, narrow leaves, to 2 in. (50 mm) long.
Common cultivars include Lobularia maritima ‘Carpet of Snow’, ‘Little Gem’, ‘Rosie O’Day’, ‘Royal Carpet’, ‘Violet Queen’, and ‘Wonderland’.
Planting and Care Guide
Blooms
Many tiny, pink, purple, white, simple, 4-petaled flowers, to 1/4-in. (6-mm) wide, in showy, carpetlike clusters, in late spring to late autumn.
Best Climates
Plant as tender annual, all zones; ground hardy, zones 7–11.
Soil Type and Fertility
Moist, well-drained soil. Fertility: Average. 6.5–7.0 pH.
Where and How to Plant
Early spring in full sun to partial shade, 6 in. (15 cm) apart, when soil is workable. Start seed indoors 6–8 weeks before final frost for early blooms; transplant when frost hazard has passed.
Proper Care
Easy. Keep moist. Avoid fertilizing. Deadhead spent flowers and shear plants to prolong bloom, promote repeat blooms. Propagate by seed.
About This Plant
Good choice for hanging baskets, borders, containers, edgings, foregrounds in cottage, meadow, rock gardens. Disease resistant. Slug, snail susceptible.