This low-growing plant blooms like crazy during mild spring and fall temperatures.
Sweet alyssum is a cool-season annual with dainty blossoms on tidy mounds of foliage.
Sweet alyssum flowers are most often found in a crisp, clean white.
Credit: Justin Hancock
However, sometimes you’ll see deep purple, light pink, or even soft peachy-hued varieties.
Theabundant white bloomsgo with everything.
Sweet alyssum is valued for its early spring flowers.
Credit: Justin Hancock
Sweet alyssum needs good air circulation, which makes it a great choice forcontainersand hanging baskets.
How and When to Plant Sweet Alyssum
Alyssums are easy plants to start from seed.
This helps extend your bloom time a little longer.
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
Give sweet alyssum 6 to 12 inches between plants to keep them from getting crowded.
Sweet Alyssum Care Tips
Sweet alyssum will grow abundantly without too much help or care.
Light
Be sure your alyssums get plenty of sunshine.
Credit: Justin Hanccock
Soil and Water
Sweet alyssum needswell-drained soilwith a pH between 6.0 to 7.0.
It does best if kept evenly moist throughout the season and should be watered in dry weather.
Because alyssum is acool-season annual,plants will generally stop blooming to conserve energy in the summer.
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
However, some varieties are much more tolerant of the heat and will give you more bloom time.
In most cases, those with darker-colored blossoms tend to have less heat resistance than the pure white varieties.
Alyssum in pots should be fertilized monthly with acomplete balanced fertilizer.
Credit: Justin Hancock
Pruning
If the season gets too hot and plants stop blooming,shear plantsback by about half.
It’s very rarely bothered by garden pests.
Curling leaves on your sweet alyssum might indicate the plant has cyclamen mites.
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
These tiny sap-sucking insects are hard to see without a magnifying glass.
Treat the plant withneem oilor insecticidal soap to eliminate them.
How to Propagate Sweet Alyssum
Sweet alyssum is propagated from seed.
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
While you might direct sow in warmer climates, starting it in pots gives you better control over thegermination.
In cold climates, it also gives you a head start on the growing season.
Start the seeds 4 to 5 weeks before your area’s last averagefrost date.
Credit: Julie Maris Semarco
Keep the seeds moist at all times.
Germination will occur in 7 to 21 days.
It grows 10 inches tall and 14 inches wide.
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
‘Snow Crystals’ Sweet Alyssum
Lobularia maritima’Snow Crystals' has fragrant, extra-large flowers on vigorous plants.
It’s also very fragrant and grows 6 inches tall but can trail to 5 feet.
Zones 9-11
Pansy
The genus Viola hasan array of delightful plantsfor the spring garden.
Credit: Janet Loughrey
They don’t mind cold weather and can even take a little snow and ice.
By summer, pansies bloom less, and their foliage starts to brown.
When that happens, tear them out and replant warm-season annuals, such as marigolds or petunias.
Zones 7-11
Stock
Stock offers aspicy, distinctive scent.
Stock is slightly spirelike and comes in a wide range of colors.
It makes an excellent cut flower, perfuming bouquets.
Count on this easy-care garden to stay looking good through dry spells.
It’s considered deer resistant.
Sweet alyssum is mostly grown as an annual.
Sweet alyssum flowers are edible, and pose no danger to people or pets.
Updated by Nadia Hassani
“Sweet alyssum.
“Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States.
“California Invasive Plant Council.
Sweet Alyssum to Attract Beneficials.
