 Arabis alpina subsp. caucasica 'Variegata' $5.95
- common name: rock cress
- flowering season: early spring
- height: leaves to 6 inches, flowers at 8 to 12 inches
- Light requirements: full sun
- Soil requirements: average, well drained
- Water requirments: average
- Growth habit: low and spreading
- How to propagate: tip cuttings in early summer or in fall
- Leaf type: small, inch-long leaves of grayish-green edged in cream
- Ways to use it such as in a pot or otherwise: grows well in rock gardens, planted to drape over embankment walls, or edging pathways; where winter climates are not too severe, it can be planted with other flowering perennials in a large pot for a deck, patio or near the front door of a home and left outdoors all year around -- its comes through a winter in good shape, with nicely colored evergreen leaves and spring flowers
- Special characteristics: as with most rock garden plants, this blooms in spring, however its colorful leaves make it more than just a spring beauty
- Other points of interests: after a year or two in the garden, it will be a good idea to shear the top and edges of the foliage back either lightly or by half to keep the foliage thick and full, without any bare spots
Popularly known as rock cress, this unusual form has grayish-green leaves edged in cream that are evergreen, and can light up a garden year around. White, four-petaled half-inch wide flowers appear from early spring until the weather starts warming up (for us in the Pacific Northwest they continue on into early summer), on elongating racemes that extend above and cover the foliage. A mature plant will reach eight to twelve inches tall when flowering, however otherwise will form a low mat of spreading growth with a height of six inches. It needs only average soil. The soil having good drainage is particularly important. For areas that have warm summers and high humidity, particularly in areas south of Zone 7, it can be short lived. Doubly colorful with its flowers and foliage, it does good duty in a rock garden, as an edging plant, and planted in the crevices of a rock wall. Native to mountains in Europe, its can survive winter cold to USDA Zone 3 |
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