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Rock Garden Plants A to Z:
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Arabis- (Rock Cress)
Arabis albida 'Flore Pleno' |
A very easy plant to grow with leaves which are usually jagged and
hairy. Masses of small, four petalled flowers appear in loose clusters in
the spring. Common Rock Cress is useful for covering a large area of bare
rock or for clothing a bank, but all too often it is allowed to run wild
in a small rock garden. The foliage is generally evergreen but stems can
die back in wet and cold winters. To keep the plant in check, cut back after
flowering. The fruit pods are long and narrow. An easy way to distinguish
Arabis from the rather similar but even more popular Aubrieta.
VARIETIES: The Common
Rock Cress is
A. albida
(A.
caucasica) height 9 in. spread 2 ft. leaves downy and green-grey, flowering
period March-April with sporadic blooms until June, flower color white. The
more compact double form
('Flore
Pleno') is popular- the blooms are larger but the plant is less free-flowering.
White is not the only color- there are pink varieties such as
'Pink
Pearl' and
'Rose
Frost'. There is also a slow-growing variety with cream-splashed leaves-
A. albida
'Variegata'. Avoid A. albida if you want a low-growing compact plant. Choose
instead a prettier and less rambling species. Examples include
A. blepharaphylla (height
3 in., spread 9 in., leaves grey-green, flower color deep rose),
A. Ferdinandi-coburgil
'Variegata'
(height
4 in., spread 1 ft., fleshy leaves brightly variegated all year round, flower
color white) and
A. alpina (height 6 in.,
spread 1 ft., flowering color white or pink).
SITE
& SOIL: Any well-drained garden soil will do. Thrives in sun
or light shade.
PROPAGATION:
Divide clumps in autumn or plant cuttings in a cold frame in summer.
Species (not named varieites) can be raised from seed sown under glass in
spring and summer.
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