Guide to growing garden plants - Lobularia Sweet Alyssum
The Lobularia genus contains small perennial plants that are often grown as hardy annuals in the garden.
They reach from 7 to 30cm in height making them great to use as edging plants.
They carry clustered flowers of white, pink or purple that have a pleasant fragrance and bloom from summer through to autumn.
Some of the common names for Lobularia are Sweet Alyssum and Snowdrift.
How to grow Sweet Alyssum
When growing Sweet Alyssum from seeds sow on the surface a few weeks before the last frost of spring or in autumn. Sweet Alyssum and other Lobularia can grow in both sunny and partially shaded areas of the garden. They prefer a soil that is a moist and loamy and of pH 6 to 7.
If starting off Sweet Alyssum indoors then start about 8 weeks in advance. The seeds require light and a temperature of 12 to 21 degrees Celsius to germinate; this usually takes from one to two weeks. Once ready the young Sweet Alyssum should be transplanted at about 20 to 25cm apart.
Caring for Sweet Alyssum in the garden
It is easy to look after Sweet Alyssum; they need to be watered regularly; if you want a prolonged flowering period then cut back half of the stems before flowering has occurred.