Guide to growing garden plants - Dryas (Mountain Avens)
Dryas are small hardy perennial creepers.
They flower from the end of spring through to summer.
Plants usually have white flowers, and attractive feathery seeds.
The common name for Dryas include Mountain Avens.
Due to their small size and creeping nature they make ideal plants for use in rock gardens.
How to grow Mountain Avens (Dryas)
Mountain Avens are not the easiest plants in the world to grow and maintain. The seeds should be sown into flats and lightly covered in the Autumn; but first the seeds require to be imbibed by placing the seeds (within soil) in a black bag, then placing in the fridge for three weeks. Seeds should then be sown out into the flats and kept at a temperature of 16 to 20 Celsius. Mountain Avens can take anything from 2 months to a full year to germinate. Once you get Dryas seedlings they should be transplanted (in the spring or autumn) into a sunny or lightly shaded part of the garden. Ideally Mountain Avens likes to grow in a moist soil that is slightly alkaline in nature, and peaty or sandy. The young Mountain Avens seedlings should be planted about 30 to 40 cm apart.
Caring for Dryas plants such as Mountain Avens
Once growing it will be necessary to care for the Mountain Avens plants by mulching in the spring, and cutting back the creepers that the plant grows. If you require more plants do not do it from the creepers but divide the Dryas plants towards the end of summer (this will result in better flowers than from taking plants from the creepers).